Average house prices reach new high of £181,619
House prices have surpassed their 2007 peak to reach a new high of £181,619 on average across England and Wales, Land Registry figures show.
Typical property values jumped by 1.1% month-on-month between May and June, meaning that they overtook a previous high of £180,983 reached on the Land Registry's records in November 2007.
Across the country, house prices have increased by 5.4% over the last year, with annual price increases ranging from a 9.2% surge in London to a 1.4% upswing in Yorkshire and the Humber.
The North East of England recorded the greatest monthly rise in property values, with a 3% uplift, while Yorkshire and the Humber saw the largest monthly price decrease, with a 0.9% fall.
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The average house price in London has reached £481,820, and within the capital there have been some particularly sharp price increases over the last year, with Newham recording the strongest increase at 16%. Barking and Dagenham, Barnet, Brent, Croydon, Hackney, Harrow Lewisham, Southwark and Tower Hamlets have also seen double-digit house price growth over the last year.
The strong price growth has not just been confined to London. Merthyr Tydfil in south Wales has seen house prices increase by 15% over the last year, although the Land Registry cautioned that figures for Merthyr can be volatile due to low house sales volumes taking place there.
Other pockets which have seen strong house price growth over the last year include Bath and North East Somerset, which has seen a 9% increase, Brighton and Hove, where prices have increased by 11.1%, Cardiff, where values have increased by 5.5%, the Vale of Glamorgan, where prices have lifted by 6.4%, Hertfordshire, where prices have increased by 11.1% and Slough, where prices have lifted by 12.9%.
Across Wales, house prices have increased by 2.7% over the last year, pushing the average house price there to £119,899.
Low mortgage rates and a tight supply of homes for sale have been factors behind the recent push-up in house prices, according to experts.
But with Bank of England governor Mark Carney recently indicating that the base rate could start to move up from its historic 0.5% low around the end of the year, some analysts have said that the cheap mortgage deals on offer may not be around for much longer.
Campbell Robb, chief executive of Shelter, said: "When house prices soar by this much in a single year thanks to our housing shortage, it's clear that for millions of people across the country, a home of your own is fast becoming a pipe dream."
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