Although prices fell by 0.5 per cent between January and February, this was smaller than the 1.0 per cent fall seen over the same period last year.
The slight fall in UK prices between January and February can be attributed to falls in prices in all dwelling types except for flats. Prices fell for detached houses, by 1.2 per cent, and semi-detached houses, by 0.6 per cent. Prices for flats rose by 0.2 per cent.
In the home countries, England and Scotland saw a rise in annual inflation in February, while Wales and Northern Ireland both saw a fall. The inflation rate in England rose from 9.4 per cent in January to 9.8 per cent in February; in Scotland the rate rose from 12.0 per cent to 15.5 per cent over the same period. The inflation rate in Wales fell from 21.3 per cent in January to 18.1 per cent in February; and in Northern Ireland the rate fell from 15.8 per cent to 11.5 per cent over the same period.
Although there was a small rise in annual house price inflation for England in February, there was no clear regional pattern. The highest inflation rates were in the North East, Yorkshire and the Humber (both at 18.2 per cent) and the North West (16.7 per cent). Inflation rates in the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the South West range between 10 and 13 per cent. Inflation was below 10 per cent in the East and London and lowest in the South East, where inflation fell from 5.3 per cent in January to 5.0 per cent in February - due to a greater fall in prices between January and February this year compared with the same period last year.
Mix-adjusted average house prices in January were £189,249 in England, £140,955 in Wales, £115,294 in Scotland and £119,596 in Northern Ireland.
The English region with the highest average house price in January was London at £262,138. The lowest average price was in the North East at £125,699.
Only the East, London, South East and the South West had average prices above the UK average.
The UK house price inflation rate for first time buyers rose from 12.7 per cent in January to 15.4 per cent in February. This was due to a fall of just 0.1 per cent in prices between January and February, compared with a greater fall of 2.4 per cent seen over the same period last year.
The inflation rate for former owner occupiers fell from 8.9 per cent in January to 8.7 per cent in February. This was due to a fall of 0.7 per cent in prices between January and February, compared with a fall of 0.5 per cent over the same period last year.
The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £145,887 in February, while the average price paid by former owner occupiers was £194,701.
