The ODPM November House Price Index also revealed house price inflation for the UK rose by 0.7 per cent for November, up to 2.5 per cent.
The study attributed the monthly house price rise to price rises across all dwellings, with the value of flats and bungalows rising 1 per cent from October to November 2005. Semi-detached properties also rose by 0.9 per cent between October and November. Regionally, London recorded the highest property prices for November, at £270,029, with the North East recording the lowest average price, at £134,878.
The monthly research revealed properties in the East, London, South East and South West all recorded average house prices above the UK average of £186,431, with properties across England averaging a mix-adjusted price of £195,319. Wales recorded a figure of £148,719, while Scotland had a mix-adjusted house price average of £127,857. Northern Ireland recorded an average of £136,231.
With a number of areas recording house prices above the UK average, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) argued first-time buyers were still unable to penetrate the market, with property prices rising faster than wage rises. RICS also stated that property prices for the typical first-time buyer property had risen 18 per cent in 22 months, with ODPM figures for November revealing an average house price of a first-time buyer property stood at £151,977.
However Paul Hearnden, managing director at My Mortgage Direct, argued figures from the My Mortgage Direct’s quarterly mortgage trends survey 2005 had revealed a return of the first-time buyer. He said: “The second half of the year had seen first-time buyer applications mostly in single figures but that rose sharply in December to 20 per cent, which is excellent news for the industry.”
