House prices rise in September: CLG

The September index revealed that the average UK house price now stands at £199,303. Prices rose by 3.1% in Q3 2009, an improvement compared to the smaller rise of 0.3% for Q2 2009.

The average house price was £205,592 in England, £147,791 in Wales, £161,157 in Scotland and £174,342 in Northern Ireland. Of the English regions, only the East, London, the South East and the South West had average prices above the UK average.

The English region with the highest average house price was London at £313,868 while the lowest average price was in the North East at £136,276.

On an annual basis, average house prices fell by -4% in England, -0.9% in Scotland, -6.7% in Wales and by a massive -18.3 per cent in Northern Ireland.

Annual average house prices paid by first time buyers in September 2009 were 1.3% lower than a year ago. Annual average house prices paid for new properties in September 2009 were 6.6% lower than a year ago.

Catherine Penman, head of research at property consultancy Carter Jonas, said the figures were further proof of the ongoing recovery in the residential property market, which is virtually unrecognisable from a year ago.

She added: "Low interest rates, attractive prices and more encouraging news from the economy are driving transactions. However, while the market overall is trending up, it remains delicately poised and certain regions may dip slightly from month to month, although volatility is to be expected at such an early stage of the market recovery."

Grant Shapps, Shadow Housing Minister said: "We need to be careful that the crisis in supply caused by the Government's failure on house-building over the last decade does not create another housing bubble. Despite these figures the market is still struggling while affordability for many young families and first time buyers is still very low in many areas."