16
Apr
Prices 'down' in February
Average house prices fell by £3,500 between January and
February, according to government figures.
The Department of Communities and Local Government said the average
property price in February was £217,737, down from
£221,278 in January.
These figures, it was noted, were variously mix-adjusted but not
seasonally adjusted, for comparison purposes.
By country, it stated that annual house price inflation was highest
in Scotland, at 9.7 per cent and lowest in Northern Ireland and
Wales (3.7 per cent and 3.8 per cent respectively).
Meanwhile, prices rose by 6.6 per cent in England, it said, while
for the quarter ending in February house prices fell by 0.5 per
cent.
A recent report in the Independent suggested there was an east-west
divide in Britain and while properties in the west were declining
those in the east of the country were rising.
"The emergence of this east-west divide has left experts scratching
their heads," the newspaper admitted. 