On a month-on-month basis, the house price index rose 0.7 percent in August to 218.5 from the record level in July, when prices increased 0.8 percent.
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Prices paid by first-time buyers were 3.8 per cent higher on average than in August 2014, while for owner-occupiers, prices increased by 5.8 per cent for the same period.
England experienced the strongest rate of inflation, up 5.6 per cent, while prices rose 2.9 per cent in Northern Ireland and 0.8 per cent in Wales.
‘While the UK’s rate of annual price growth was unchanged, the progress is slowly becoming more broad-based – with East and South East England emerging as the star performers.
United Kingdom house prices in August rose at the same pace as in the previous month, exceeding economists’ expectations, figures from the Office for National Statistics showed Tuesday.
The extra strain for first-time buyers comes as house prices surged to a record peak of £284,000 across the United Kingdom in August, after climbing by £2,000 in one month alone.
While London is still home to the most expensive property, with prices of £522,000 on average, values are slightly down compared with July, the ONS said.
Regionally, the fastest property price rise was seen in the East of England (up 8.8%), with Scotland registering the only fall in average prices.
‘With ultra-hotspots like Cambridge powering East Anglia to a level of annual price growth that was once typical of London, north-south divide remains firmly in place’.
The price of these “starter homes”, after the discount is applied, will be capped at £250,000 across the United Kingdom and £450,000 in London.
Adrian Gill, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, said: “The cheaper northern regions are experiencing the fastest growth in property sales, while a shortage of property stock on the market in the South is slowing activity”.
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Howard Archer, chief United Kingdom and European economist for IHS Global Insight, said that a limited choice of properties for sale for buyers to choose from is “clearly exerting upward pressure on house prices”. “We expect house prices to rise 7% in 2015 and then by 6% in 2016”.
