House prices up 6.8%

28th March 2014

The Office for National Statistics has revealed that UK house prices in January were up 6.8% compared with the same period a year earlier.

The cost of an average UK home now stands at £254,000. Excluding London, where prices jumped up 13.2%, and the South-East (7.1%), they were up 3.8%. Broken down by country, prices rose 7.1% in England, 6.9% in Wales, 1.4% in Scotland and 2.7% in Northern Ireland. Shelter’s Campbell Robb, said the figures send out a warning to the government: “No matter how hard young people and families work or save, these days most simply can't keep up with sky-high house prices, and are instead facing a lifetime of unstable renting.”

Source:   The Daily Telegraph (25/03/2014)