Average house prices in the UK have increased by 3.9% in the year to April 2018, a decrease on the 4.2% figure released in March 2018, according to the latest UK House Price Index published by HM Land Registry and Office for National Statistics.

However, the report also looked at country level, and Scotland experienced the largest annual price increase, with the house prices rising by 5.6% over the year to April 2018. Wales saw house prices grow by 4.4% over the year, while Northern Ireland and England recorded growth levels of 4.2% and 3.7% respectively.

When looking at the figures on a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices in the UK increased by 0.7% between April 2018 and May 2018, compared to an increase of 0.5% in average prices during the same period in 2017.

In April 2017, the average price for a detached property was £329,648, but that figure has grown over the year and is now at £342,154. The largest increase was seen among semi-detached properties, rising to £214,717 from £203,912 in April 2017, a 5.3% rise. However, in contrast, flats and maisonette’s saw the smallest level of growth at 1.0%, rising from £199,983 to £202,052.

On average, first-time buyers were spending £191,646 on a property in April 2018, whereas former owner occupiers were paying £263,098 for a new property, representing monthly increases of 1.4% and 1.0% respectively.

Commenting on the index, Legal & General Mortgage Club director Kevin Roberts said: “The mortgage market is continuing to support first-time buyers onto the ladder with schemes like Help to Buy and Shared Ownership, but it’s still a struggle for many buyers and we can’t expect the housing crisis to resolve itself. Recent figures from the Bank of England show that the share of first time buyers has decreased by 20% in the first quarter of 2018 alone.

“Clearly, the persistent lack of housing stock is still making the task of finding their first home a big challenge for younger buyers, and it will only continue to do so unless the Government can really deliver on its promise of building the 300,000 homes a year we need.”

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