House Prices hit 21 month High

House prices have hit a 21 month high - latest data shows prices rising by 0.5% in England & Wales over the period February 17th to March 17th. That's the biggest month on month increase since June 2004 and takes the average price of a property up to £162,500.

Much of the impetus has come from London where prices rose by their biggest rate since August 2002 and where the average cost of a property is now £276,000.

But if London has shown the most strength all 10 regions monitored can at least lay claim to having seen price increases of some description.

Gross mortgage lending totalled £21.8 billion in February according to the latest data from the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML). But this figure, which is a record for February, was down by 5% on January's £23 billion, although higher than they lent in February 2005.

February is typically the weakest month of the year for mortgage lending because of the slow-down in house-buying between the autumn and spring. However, house-buying activity has remained strong in recent months demonstrating consumer confidence in the housing market, says the CML.

Author: Grace Sinclair

House prices on the increase throughout the UK. Biggest increases in London area.

Published on 28/3/2006.

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