Average house price now £170,000

31 October 2006

New figures have revealed that the average price of a house in the UK has risen by more than £12,500 in the past year - to almost £170,000. The data, from the Nationwide, also indicated that house prices remained firm during October.

However, the building society said that while recent housing market indicators had been “firm”, there was a fall last month in the number of estate agents reporting an increase in sales and inquiries from new buyers.

The Nationwide’s group economist, Fionnuala Earley, said: “This could suggest that we will see some slowing in mortgage approvals in the next few months.”

She added that with house prices continuing to rise and another hike in interest rates imminent, investors could be pushed away from housing and into the stock market. She said: “While property prices are at an all-time high, the value of the equity market has only just returned to 2000 levels after reaching a trough. This could now encourage some investors to begin to switch their preferences towards equities.”