Average house now costs £200,000

8 November 2006

The average house in England and Wales now costs more than £200,000, according to the Land Registry. Its latest report - which studies sales between July and September - shows that the average price rose to £211,453. That's up 9% on the year.

Prices were highest in nine London boroughs, with properties in Kensington and Chelsea costing an average of £942,000. But Surrey is officially the most expensive county in which to buy a property - where the average house will set you back £351,000.

These figures from the Land Registry corroborate other evidence from lenders and market experts that show the property market has been very buoyant this year. House price inflation is currently running at around 8%.

All this means that the number of low-priced houses on the market is dwindling rapidly. Only three areas of England and Wales still have an average property price below £100,000. They're Stoke-on-Trent, Kingston-upon-Hull and Blaenau Gwent.

A few places have missed out on the recent house price boom. In the past year, prices have actually fallen in Blackpool, Anglesey, Leicester and Monmouthshire.