UK house prices rising fastest in Yorkshire and Humber

The North-South divide in house price growth saw property values climb more than three times as much in Yorkshire and Humber as in south-east England.

Land Registry figures for December also revealed a post-election boost, with London prices rising 1.6%.

The end-of-year surge meant all regions saw a positive annual growth rate for the first time since February 2018.

UK average house prices increased by 2.2% over the year to December 2019, up from 1.7% in the previous month.

They rose 3.9% in Yorkshire and Humber last year, but just 1.2% in the South East.

According to the Office for National Statistics, "Over the past three years, there has been a general slowdown in UK house price growth (driven mainly by a slowdown in the South and East of England), but there has been a pickup in annual growth since July 2019."

The average UK house price reached a record high of £235,000 in December 2019, £5,000 more than a year earlier.

Country-by-country prices

House price growth in Wales increased by 2.2% over the year to December 2019, down from 5.5% in November 2019, with the average house price in Wales at £166,000.

The average house price in Scotland increased by 2.2% over the year to December 2019, down from 2.9% in the year to November 2019, with the average house price in Scotland now at £152,000.

The average house price in England increased by 2.2% over the year to December 2019, up from 1.3% in the year to November 2019, with the average house price in England now at £252,000.

The average house price in Northern Ireland increased by 2.5% over the year to Quarter 4 (Oct to Dec) 2019. Northern Ireland remains the cheapest UK country to buy a property in, with the average house price at £140,000.

Reaction

"For all regions to have delivered positive annual growth for the first time in nearly two years highlights just how resilient the UK property market has been against a backdrop of extreme political uncertainty," said David Westgate, chief executive at Andrews Property Group.

"There's a definite sense that the property market has turned a corner and is shaking off its post-EU referendum anxieties," he added.

"London, for so long the fallen idol of the national property landscape, has powered back not just to growth, but to become the fourth-best performing English region in 2019," pointed out Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders.

'The second highest value region, the South East, experienced the lowest annual growth, which is great news for potential home buyers looking to get a foot on the housing ladder in this part of the country," said Anna Clare Harper, co-founder of property fund Anglo Residential.

The ONS/Land Registry data is generally considered to be the most accurate house price estimate, although it covers a period which is slightly earlier than other surveys.