House prices were £11,000 higher in November than the year before

UK house prices were around £11,000 higher in November than a year earlier, official figures show.

The average price was £226,000 in November 2017, marking a 5.1% annual increase, slightly down on a 5.4% rise in October, according to figures compiled jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Land Registry and other bodies.

Property values edged up by 0.1%, month-on-month in November.

The report said the annual rate of growth has slowed since mid-2016 but remained broadly at around 5% during 2017.

Cambridge was the UK local authority with the biggest annual growth in November, with prices increasing by 16.4% to stand at £462,000 on average.

The lowest figure was recorded in Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles), where prices fell by 11.3% to £94,000, although the report cautioned that low volumes of house sales can cause some volatility in the figures.

In England, house prices increased by 5.3% over the year to November 2017, with the average price at £243,000.

The strongest growth regionally was in the West Midlands, at 7.2%, followed by the East Midlands at 6.4%.

The lowest growth was in London and the North East, where prices increased by 2.3%.

In Wales, prices increased by 4.5% annually to reach £153,000, Scotland rose by 3.6% to £146,000, and Northern Ireland was at £132,000 - an increase of 6%.

Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent and a former residential chairman of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said: "While it is still early days, so far this year we have already seen considerable pent-up demand for properties - not necessarily resulting in offers but certainly plenty of interest from buyers who have their finance lined up and are keen to find more realistically priced properties."

Richard Snook, a senior economist at PwC, said: "In the first housing release of 2018, data from the ONS and Land Registry show a fairly benign picture in the market."

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY ITEM Club, said: "The fundamentals for house buyers are likely to remain challenging.

"The squeeze on consumers' purchasing power remains appreciable going into 2018, and it is likely to only gradually ease as the year progresses.

"Additionally, housing market activity is likely to be hampered by fragile consumer confidence and limited willingness to engage in major transactions."