The year-on-year increase reflected growth of 2.8 per cent in England, which was offset by declines in Scotland and Northern Ireland of 1.0 and 11.9 per cent respectively. House prices remained unchanged in Wales.
Annual house price increases in England were driven by a 6.5 per cent rise in London, and increases in the South West and South East of 2.3 and 2.2 per cent respectively. The only decrease in England was of 1.3 per cent in the North East.
On a seasonally adjusted basis, UK house prices increased by 0.5 per cent between May and June - prices of new dwellings rose by 5.9 per cent during the 12 months to June 2012, while the price of pre-owned dwellings increased by 2.1 per cent in the same period
In June 2012, prices paid by first time buyers were 3.1 per cent higher on average than in June 2011 while for owner occupiers prices increased by 2.1 per cent for the same period
Average house prices in countries and regions
- Average mix-adjusted house prices in June 2012 stood at £240,000 in England, £154,000 in Wales, £131,000 in Northern Ireland and £180,000 in Scotland.
- In June 2012, London continues to be the English region with the highest average house price at £392,000. The North East had the lowest average house price at £144,000.
- London, the South East and the East of England all had prices higher than the UK average price of £231,000.
- Excluding London and the South East, the average UK mix-adjusted house price was £187,000
House Price Index by type of buyer
- The average price for properties bought by first time buyers increased by 3.1 per cent over the year to June 2012 compared with an annual increase of 2.9 per cent in May 2012.
- During June 2012 the average price paid for a house by a first time buyer was £173,000. The average price for properties bought by former owner occupiers (existing owners) increased by 2.1 per cent in the year to June 2012 unchanged from an increase of 2.1 per cent in May 2012.
- In June 2012, the average price paid for a house by a former owner occupier was £266,000.
Ashley Alexander, director, estate agent review website MeetMyAgent.co.uk, says:
"The UK has a two tier property market at the moment - London and the rest of the UK. Supported by demand from foreign buyers, London has seen annual house price growth almost three times that of the average growth across the whole of the UK.
"To get a true picture of the state of the UK property market, it almost makes more sense to ignore the London market entirely, as sales in the capital are creating a ballast to house prices.
"Although, based on these figures, house prices appear to be reasonably stable, there are still underlying concerns that can't be ignored. Economic instability, high unemployment and strict mortgage lending criteria continue to be a barrier to sustained price growth, and consumer confidence remains fragile.
"One possible light at the end of the tunnel is the Government's funding for lending scheme which appears to have started feeding through to the mortgage market, with lenders offering cheaper products and crucially more deals at higher loan to values.
"This should inject some much needed activity into the property market, particularly amongst first time buyers who have struggled to raise large enough deposits."
