The average price of a home in England and Wales increased by almost £1,900 in February compared with the previous month, according to Your Moves’ latest house price index.
The average price of a residential property increased from £295,937 in January to £297,832 last month, led by gains in the East of England, where prices rose by an average of 5.9% year-on-year, while new peak prices were achieved in Merseyside and Birmingham.
Nationally, annual house price inflation fell for the 12th consecutive month, dropping to 2.4%, the lowest annual rate since 2013.
Estimated transactions in England and Wales also dropped last month, by around 0.4%, to 62,000, compared with January, but year-to-date remains higher than in 2015 and 2013.
Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “It’s an encouraging start to 2017. We’ve seen the strongest house price growth in a year, the emergence of the promised Northern Powerhouse and the first tentative signs of a recovery in our highest priced properties in London.
“The good news too is that the number of first time buyers grew last year and house building was up – although home ownership is now at its lowest level in over three decades.”
