House prices in England and Wales showed another significant rise in October, according to figures from the Land Registry. The rise of 1.2 per cent in October was the second month in a row that the figure had increased by over a percentage point.
The average home price in England and Wales is now £171,709.
The overall figure for house price inflation was seven per cent, with the brunt of the increase borne in the South, which has seen overall annual house price inflation increase by 9.6 per cent in London and 8.1 per cent in the South East. The two regions saw respective monthly rises of 1.6 and 1.9 per cent, with London houses now costing an average of £309,432.
While first-time buyers in or around the capital face increasing difficulty and hardship trying to get on the housing ladder, the news was better in the North East where, despite a monthly rise of 2.9 per cent, the annual rise has been a below-average 5.8 per cent with the average price now £125,660.