House prices hit new peak in six regions
17/09/2014
House prices are now higher than before the financial crisis in six regions of the UK, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
These six regions include, London, the South East of England, the East of England, the East Midlands, the West Midlands and the South West of England.
UK property prices as a whole are up an average of 11.7% for the year when measured up to July 2014, which is an increase from a month earlier when the figure was measured at 10.2%.
Some areas have seen prices grow even quicker, such as London, where house prices have increased by 19.1% in the same time period.
However, some areas have experienced much slower price growth, especially in Northern Ireland, where prices increased by a modest 4.5%. Additionally, property prices in Yorkshire and the Humberside only increased by 5% during the same time period.
Mixed messages
There have been mixed messages in recent months about the direction house prices will take in the near future.
It was recently claimed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors that the housing market had reached a plateau, which was backed up by Halifax who said that their levels of mortgage lending dropped in August.
However, prices appear to have continued rising at an even faster pace according to the figures released by the ONS, whilst Nationwide claimed that their level of mortgage lending increased in August too.
The ONS said that the average property price in the UK now stands at £272,000, whilst the average price for a home in London is over £500,000.
Housing charity Shelter warned against the effect of rising house prices on young people and their parents, as they claimed that parents who help their child onto the property ladder gave them an average of £23,000 towards a deposit. They also said that this has meant that one in four of these parents have had to cut back on their own day-to-day spending to help their children.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter said: “This shocking rise in house prices leaves even more people priced out of a stable home. The dream of their own home is slipping so far out of reach for young people and families across the country”.
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