UK house prices increased by 9.0% in the 12 months to March 2016

The Office for National Statistics House Price Index for March 2016 has just been released and the main findings are:

·         UK house prices increased by 9.0% in the year to March 2016, up from 7.6% in the year to February 2016.

·         House price annual inflation was 10.1% in England, 2.1% in Wales, -6.1% in Scotland and 6.4% in Northern Ireland.

·         Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in London (13.0%), the South East (12.2%) and the East of England (12.1%).

·         Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.9% in the 12 months to March 2016.

·         On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 2.5% between February 2016 and March 2016.

·         In March 2016, prices paid by first-time buyers were 9.7% higher on average than in March 2015.

·         For owner-occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 8.7% for the same period.

·         UK average mix-adjusted house price in March 2016 was £292,000.

Annual house price rates of change, UK all dwellings from January 2004 to March 2016

12 month percentage change

The full report can be found here http://www.ons.gov.uk/economy/inflationandpriceindices/bulletins/housepriceindex/march2016