House prices in the UK continue to rise

Official government figures show that house prices in the UK rose by more than £2,500 between March and April this year.

The Communities and Local Government (CLG) data shows that house prices reached £209,454 in April - compared to £206,890 in March 2007.

This increase meant that annual house price inflation reached 11.3 per cent in April, compared to 10.9 per cent the month before.

In London, rising prices meant that the annual rate of house price inflation reached 14 per cent in the fourth month of 2007.

Nearly all types of property increased in value, with bungalows (1.9 per cent), terraced houses (1.7 per cent) and semi-detached dwellings (1.4 per cent) rising at the fastest rates.

House prices in Northern Island continued to grow at the most rapid pace in the UK - the annual rate of house price inflation stood at 54.1 per cent at the end of April in the state.

David Stubbs, Rics' senior economist, commented: "These numbers confirmthat the housing market was in rude health at the start of the second quarter.

"Tight supply conditions were driving prices skywards, but the hikes in interest rates since August have now started to slow the market somewhat.

"These figures also emphasize the broad nature of the prices rises, with every region of England seeing rises of over seven per cent in the year to April."