House prices rise by £15,000 in a year, official report reveals

House prices ended last year around £15,000 higher on average than when the year started, according to an official report.

The typical UK property value was £220,000 in December, marking a £15,000 increase compared with a year earlier, said the report, produced jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) with other bodies.

The main contribution to the increase in UK house price growth came from England, where house prices increased by 7.7% over the year to December, taking the average price in England to £236,000.

Wales saw house prices increase by 4.7% over the year to stand at £148,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 3.5% over the year to stand at £142,000, while in Northern Ireland the average house price was £125,000, an increase of 5.7% over the previous 12 months.

Across the English regions, house price growth over the past year has ranged from an 11.3% increase in East Anglia to a 4.1% rise in the North East. In London, house prices have increased by 7.5% over the past year, to reach £484,000 on average.

House prices across the UK as a whole increased by 7.2% in the year to December, accelerating from a 6.1% rise recorded in the year to November. Prices increased by 1.4% month-on-month.

An average first-time buyer in Britain faces paying 7% more for a property than they did a year ago, with the typical price paid by this sector now at £184,973, the report said.