The average house price in the UK increased by 6.7% in the year to November, up from 6.4% in October 2015, according to new data from the Office for National Statistics.
The average UK house price was £218,000, £14,000 higher than in November 2015 and £2,000 higher than the previous month.
The ONS said the figures continued the strong growth seen since the end of 2013.
On a monthly basis house prices rose 1.1% in November, which was the largest increase since June and the first rise since July. House prices had previously seen a marginal dip of 0.1% in October following flat prices in September and a drop of 0.4% in August.
The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 7.2% over the year to November to £234,000.
Wales saw house prices increase by 4.1% over the last 12 months to stand at £147,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 3.3% over the year to £143,000. The average price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £124,000.
The East of England showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 10.5% in the year to November. Growth in the South East was second highest at 8.6%, followed by London at 8.1%. The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 3.2% over the year.
The most expensive borough to live in was Kensington and Chelsea, where the cost of an average house was £1.3 million. In contrast, the cheapest area to purchase a property was Burnley, where an average house cost £75,000.
Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight, said: “With housing market activity up from its August lows and the economy currently resilient, house prices look likely to rise modestly in the near term.
“Despite the stronger November ONS data, we suspect that housing market activity and prices will come under increasing pressure as 2017 progresses. Consequently, we suspect that house price gains over 2017 will be no more than 2%.”
Andy Sommerville, director at Search Acumen, said: “Another significant year-on-year increase in house prices is naturally daunting news to the pool of first time buyers already struggling to get a grasp on the housing ladder. The average house price in the UK rose by £14,000 in the year to November, continuing the upward trend seen since 2013. However, the future could be looking brighter as we enter a new year, with worries surrounding construction output taking a positive turn.”
“It is vital that this momentum we have seen in the past couple of months is fervently kept up and the ball continues to roll into 2017. Whether we like it or not, our economy’s future will only become clearer as we establish what the Brexit journey will look like. But for now, we can learn from the past year that we should focus our efforts on the immediate problems in our industry rather than predicting what the future holds and a strong housing supply will prove indispensable for market hopefuls through these times.”
Price change by country and region
| Country and region | Price | Monthly change | Annual change |
|---|---|---|---|
| England | £234,278 | 1.1% | 7.2% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2016) | £124,093 | 0.8% | 5.4% |
| Scotland | £143,033 | 1.5% | 3.3% |
| Wales | £146,742 | -0.2% | 4.1% |
| East Midlands | £176,524 | 1.7% | 7.3% |
| East of England | £278,349 | 0.9% | 10.5% |
| London | £481,648 | 1.8% | 8.1% |
| North East | £126,989 | 1.3% | 3.2% |
| North West | £150,249 | 1.1% | 5.2% |
| South East | £313,334 | 0.3% | 8.6% |
| South West | £239,371 | 0.5% | 5.7% |
| West Midlands Region | £181,372 | 2.2% | 7.4% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £152,418 | 1.1% | 5.1% |
