East of England drives November house price growth: UK HPI

The average UK house price was £218,000 in November 2016. This is £14,000 higher than in November 2015 and £2,000 higher than October.

The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 7.2% over the year to November 2016, with the average price in England now £234,000. Wales saw house prices increase by 4.1% over the last 12 months to stand at £147,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 3.3% over the year to stand at £143,000. The average price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £124,000.

The East of England is the region which showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 10.5% in the year to November 2016. Growth in the South East was second highest at 8.6%, followed by London at 8.1%. The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 3.2% over the year.

Jeremy Duncombe, Director, Legal & General Mortgage Club, commented: “November’s results show another monthly rise in house price inflation, highlighting the fundamental flaw that continues to plague the housing market. House price inflation continues to outstrip wage inflation, excluding potential first-time buyers from home ownership as their outgoings are taken up by rent instead of saving for a deposit.

“2017 must be the year that we begin to tackle our nation’s chronic shortage of affordable homes head on. It is encouraging to see the Government’s introduction of a Starter Homes Scheme, which is a progressive step forwards to stimulate housing supply. We await the Housing White Paper at the end of this month with bated breath. Hopefully it will produce some concrete and realistic plans that will result in a cross party effort to help tackle our nation’s housing shortage.”