* The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in December 2004 stood at £178,906, down from £180,126 in November (not seasonally adjusted).
* UK annual house price inflation in December 2004 was 10.7 per cent, down from 13.7 per cent in November.
* Annual house price inflation in London was 3.0 per cent in December 2004, down from 7.0 per cent in November.
Figure 1: UK annual house price inflation (all dwellings)
2004
UK
London
UK
All dwellings
All dwellings
All dwellings
IndexFeb 02= 100
% change over12 months
Index Feb02 = 100
% change over12 months
£
Not seasonally adjusted
Jul
147.8
14.3
133.4
8.4
177,474
Aug
149.5
13.6
132.9
6.5
179,486
Sep
149.2
13.7
131.8
6.5
179,141
Oct
150.3
12.6
132.9
7.0
180,444
Nov
150.1
13.7
131.6
7.0
180,126
Dec
149.0
10.7
128.9
3.0
178,906
HOUSE PRICE INFLATION: REGIONAL
The UK house price inflation rate fell from 13.7 per cent in November to 10.7 per cent in December. This was due to a fall in prices by 0.7 per cent between November and December compared with an increase in prices by 2.0 per cent over the same period last year.
The fall in UK prices between November and December can be attributed to falls in prices for detached houses by 1.3 per cent, terraced houses by 0.6 per cent and flats by 0.8 per cent.
All the home countries except for Northern Ireland saw a fall in their annual inflation rate in December. The inflation rate in Northern Ireland rose from 13.5 per cent in November to 16.0 per cent in December. Inflation in England fell from 13.0 per cent in November to 10.1 per cent in December. Annual inflation in Wales fell from 24.1 per cent in November to 20.8 per cent in December. Scotland saw inflation fall from 19.5 per cent to 13.6 per cent over the same period.
The fall in annual house price inflation for the whole of England in December was also reflected across all regions. The highest rates remain in the North East (20.5 per cent), Yorkshire and the Humber (18.8 per cent) and the North West (17.8 per cent). Inflation rates in these regions remain substantially higher than in the rest of England, although rates in the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the South West also remain above 10 per cent. Inflation in London fell from 7.0 per cent in November to 3.0 per cent in December - due to a fall in prices between November and December this year compared to rise over the same period last year.
HOUSE PRICES: REGIONAL
Mix-adjusted average house prices in December were £191,141 in England, £141,004 in Wales, £114,251 in Scotland and £116,261 in Northern Ireland.
The English region with the highest average house price in December was London at £257,195. The lowest average price was in the North East at £128,991.
Only the East, London, South East and the South West had average prices above the UK average.
HOUSE PRICE INFLATION: TYPE OF BUYER
The UK house price inflation rate for first time buyers fell from 15.2 per cent in November to 13.3 per cent in December. This was due to a rise of 0.7 per cent in prices between November and December, compared with a rise of 2.4 per cent seen over the same period last year. The inflation rate for former owner occupiers fell from 13.1 per cent in November to 9.8 per cent in December. This was due to a fall of 1.2 per cent in prices between November and December, compared with a rise of 1.8 per cent over the same period last year.
The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £145,408 in December, while the average price paid by former owner occupiers was £197,059.
TABLES
Tables are from July 2002 to December 2004.
A1: Mix-adjusted house price index and annual inflation by region.
A2: Mix-adjusted average house prices by region.
A3: Mix-adjusted house price index and annual inflation by type of buyer, UK.
A4: Mix-adjusted average house prices by type of buyer, UK.
Small revisions have been made to the September 2004 and November 2004 figures because of the inclusion of a number of September and November completions that were submitted late. The overall effect of these revisions was to lower the UK mix-adjusted average price by just 0.03% (or -£60) in September and by just 0.06% (or -£100) in November. Revisions will have occurred in all regions.
Additional tables and earlier monthly data can be accessed in the 'Live tables' section (housing market) at www.odpm.gov.uk/housingstatistics
