• The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in February 2006 stood at £183,224, down from £185,404 in January 2006 (not seasonally adjusted).
• UK annual house price inflation in February 2006 was 3.6 per cent, down from 4.3 per cent in January 2006. Annual house price inflation in London was 1.9 per cent in February 2006, down from 5.3 per cent in January 2006.
• The UK annual house price inflation rate for the 3 months to February 2006 was 3.6 per cent, the same rate as in London.
The UK house price inflation rate fell from 4.3 per cent in January 2006 to 3.6 per cent in February 2006. Prices fell by 1.2 per cent between January and February, compared to a fall of 0.5 per cent seen over the same period last year.
The fall in UK prices between January and February can be attributed to falls in average prices for all property types, in particular for flats (4.6 per cent), detached properties (1.2 per cent) and bungalows (1.1 per cent).
In the home countries, England saw a fall in inflation in February, while inflation rose in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland in February. The inflation rate in England fell from 3.7 per cent in January to 2.8 per cent in February. Over the same period, the inflation rate in Wales rose from 6.4 per cent to 6.5 per cent, in Scotland the rate rose from 10.5 per cent to 11.5 per cent and in Northern Ireland the rate rose from 12.5 per cent to 15.8 per cent.
House price inflation fell in six of the English regions but rose in the other three. The highest inflation rates remain in the north in Yorkshire and the Humber (8.6 per cent), North West (7.8 per cent) and in North East (7.0 per cent). Inflation rates were much lower in other parts of England; in West Midlands (3.5 per cent), South East (2.0 per cent), London (1.9 per cent), East Midlands (1.7 per cent) and South West (1.3 per cent). The inflation rate for the East fell below zero because prices fell between January and February by 2.9 per cent compared with a smaller fall of 0.2 per cent in the same period last year. Except January, the inflation rate in this region has been negative each month since October.
Mix-adjusted average house prices in February were £191,563 in England, £148,562 in Wales, £129,020 in Scotland and £138,032 in Northern Ireland.
The English region with the highest average house price in February remains London at £263,222. The lowest average price was in the North East at £133,348.
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 fell from 5.2 per cent in January to 4.1 per cent in February. This was due to a fall of 1.2 per cent in prices between January and February in the properties bought by first time buyers compared with and a smaller fall of 0.1 per cent over the same period last year.
The inflation rate for former owner occupiers fell from 4.0 per cent in January to 3.4 per cent in February. This was due to a fall of 1.2 per cent in prices between January and February in the properties bought by former owner occupiers, compared with a smaller fall of 0.7 per cent over the same period last year.
The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £141,069 in February, while the average price paid by former owner occupiers was £201,206.
