UK house costs continue to rise

The average UK house now costs more than £150,000 (€225,210) and has seen an 18.5% year-on-year rise as another survey found little evidence of a slowdown in the housing market, despite higher borrowing costs.

The Halifax bank, part of the HBOS banking group, said house prices in March increased by 2.2% from the previous month, with a low supply of housing for sale driving prices higher.

The Halifax found that prices continued to rise most rapidly in northern England and Wales, while the south east and Greater London experienced the smallest increases.

The average UK house price has now pushed through the £150,000 (€225,210) barrier for the first time with an average price of £151,467 (€227,403) in March.

The British north/south divide appears to have narrowed with the survey finding that the gap between the average price in Greater London and the North has fallen by almost £10,000 (€15,013) over the past year.

The Halifax survey findings back up those of building society Nationwide, which had doubled its forecast for house price inflation this year to 15%.