According to the latest quarterly review of house prices produced by Nationwide Building Society, England lags behind in house price growth, while Scotland and Northern Ireland boom.
* Quarterly UK growth falls back sharply
* Scottish and Northern Irish house prices are booming
* Average London house price exceeds £250,000
* House price growth in the South accelerates, while the North slows
* Lack of supply could mean up to 200,000 frustrated households in UK
* Supply most pressing in the South East, but also worsening in East Anglia and the Midlands
Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Group Economist, said: "The annual rate of house price growth in the UK remained stable in the second quarter, but the quarterly growth rate fell back sharply from 2.2% to 0.9%. England lagged behind the other parts of the UK with prices growing at 3.6% over the year compared with the UK average of 4.8%. Prices in Wales grew at the same rate as the UK average, but Scotland and Northern Ireland saw double-digit
annual house price inflation of 10.7% and 24.9% respectively. Within England, the fastest annual rate of house price growth was in London where prices increased by 4.71% in the last year, marginally faster than East Anglia (4.70%) and Yorkshire and Humberside (4.67%). The Northern region saw the slowest annual growth rate at a mere 1%. Looking at house price movements between April and June, East Anglia and Northern Ireland were the only parts of the UK where the quarterly growth rate was higher in the second quarter of 2006 than the first.
