ONS once again puts house prices in a different league from Land Registry

House prices trod water between August and September, falling just 0.2%, according to the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said average house prices in September stood at £233,000. It said that average house prices were £241,000 in England, £159,000 in Wales, £130,000 in Northern Ireland and £181,000 in Scotland.

In London, the average house price was £394,000, compared with £146,000 in the North-East.

London, the South-East and the East of England all had prices higher than the UK average price of £233,000, which is once again much higher than the Land Registry’s September figure of £162,561.

According to the ONS, house prices increased by 1.7% year on year. According to the Land Registry, house prices in England and Wales were up 1.1%.

Both the Land Registry and ONS are the Government’s official house price surveys.

Other new ONS figures, relating to inflation, show that the cost of mortgages has risen significantly over the past year. The cost of mortgage repayments rose markedly in October, increasing by 6.6% over the year, compared with a 3% annual increase in September.