Average house price up by £11,000 annually to £226k

The average price in Northern Ireland was £129,000, an increase of 4.4% over the year.

Overall, average house prices increased by 5% in the year to August, up from an annual increase of 4.5% in July, according to the report released jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), the Land Registry and other bodies.

House prices were also up by 0.5% month-on-month, taking the average UK property value to £226,000 - £11,000 higher than in August 2016.

Across the regions, the north west of England showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 6.5% to reach £160,000 on average in August.

This was followed by the East of England, East Midlands and South West, where prices all increased by 6.4% annually.

The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 2.6% over the year, followed by the North East at 3.7%.

London continues to be the region with the highest average house price at £484,000. The lowest average price continues to be in the North East at £131,000.

Wales saw house prices increase by 3.4% annually, reaching £150,000 on average.

In Scotland, the price increased by 3.9% over the year typically to stand at £146,000.

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY ITEM Club, said: “Housing market activity has picked up from the lows seen around mid-2017 but is still hardly buoyant.”

He continued: “We see house prices being muted over the fourth quarter and then rising a modest 2% to 3% in 2018.