UK house prices up 10.5% in a year, says Office for National Statistics (ONS)

UK house prices rose by 10.5% in the 12 months to May, the ONS has said.

However, inflation was driven by London and the south-east, and in nine out of 12 regions in the UK, house prices were still below their peak of January 2008.

House price annual inflation was 20.1% in London, 11% in England as a whole, 6.5% in Wales, 3.6% in Scotland but minus 0.7% in Northern Ireland.

Excluding London and the south-east, UK house prices increased by 6.4%, but with a number of places experiencing little growth.

The ONS says “average mix-adjusted” house prices in May stood at £274,000 in England, £166,000 in Wales, £134,000 in Northern Ireland and £188,000 in Scotland.

In London, the average house price was £492,000 while the north-east had the lowest average house price at £150,000.

Excluding London and the south-east, the average UK mix-adjusted house price was £200,000.