House prices have gone up 4.9% in the past year, down from 5% in May, new figures show.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, house prices rose by more than £2,000 in June, taking the average value of a property in the UK up to £223,257.
The annual growth rate has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained broadly around 5% during 2017.
The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 5.2% over the year to £240,325.
House prices have gone up by 3.6% to £151,672 over the last 12 months in Wales, by 2.9% to £144,253 in Scotland and by 4.4% to £128,650 in Northern Ireland.
On a regional basis, the largest house price growth was in the East of England at 7.2%, followed by the East Midlands at 7.1%.
The lowest house price growth was in the North East at 2.5%, with London not far behind at 2.9%.
The largest annual growth was in the Orkney Islands, where prices increased by 27.9% to hit £148,000.
The lowest annual growth was recorded in City of London, where prices fell 20.3% to £724,000.
Paul Smith, CEO of haart, said: “House prices continued to rally with unflinching determination once again in June despite the ongoing economic uncertainty. However this means that the average UK buyer now has to fork out an extra £10,000 more to own a home than the same time last year. Along with consumer price hikes and falling wage growth, unaffordability is reaching a crisis point. This is creating real impact on the ground as we see first-time buyer registrations drop by almost 20% on the year across our branches.
“The resolution is clear – Government must stop excessive profiteering at the plight of the aspiring home owner and cut the stamp duty stealth tax. Unless we see a more comprehensive break for first-time buyers, the UK’s legacy as a property-owning democracy is at risk of vanishing.”
“However London’s ongoing house price ‘correction’ continues, as it experiences just 0.4% more annual growth in June than the worst performing North East. A lot has changed since a year ago where London outperformed the same region by 11%. Buyers in London should act now before growth bounces back.”
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