The rate at which UK house prices are growing has slowed, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics.
In the year to February 2017 house prices rose 5.6 per cent, but in the year to March 2017 house prices increased by a noticeably lower 4.1 per cent.
This means that the average UK house price is currently £215,848, according to figures from the Land Registry.
The North East saw the lowest annual growth of the UK, as prices fell 0.4 per cent over the year. London saw the second-lowest annual growth, as prices rose 1.5 per cent, although the capital continues to have the most expensive average house price (£472,000). This is followed by the South East (£312,000) and east of England (£277,000).
In April 2000, annual house price growth in London peaked at a staggering 28.3 per cent.
Samuel Tombs, chief UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “It is now abundantly clear that the housing market is in its softest patch for several years.
“Looking ahead, it is very hard to see growth in central London prices recovering, given that valuations look stretched, the financial sector is facing an uncertain post-Brexit future, and volatility in sterling is undermining property’s safe-haven appeal for overseas investors.
“Across the rest of the UK, house price growth looks set to remain dampened by sluggish growth in wages and the loan-to-income limits on lenders.”
