The House Price Index for June 2006, published by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG), states that the mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in June 2006 stood at £190,883, up from £190,065 in May 2006 (not seasonally adjusted). UK annual house price inflation in June 2006 was 5.2%, down from 5.6% in May 2006. Annual house price inflation in London was 5.8% in June 2006, down from 7.0% in May 2006. The UK annual house price inflation rate for the 3 months to June 2006 was 5.3%, and 6.5% in London.
HOUSE PRICE INFLATION: REGIONAL
The UK house price inflation rate fell from 5.6% in May 2006 to 5.2% in June 2006. Although prices rose by 0.4% between May and June, there was a larger rise of 0.8% over the same period last year. The small rise in UK prices between May and June can be attributed to small rises in average prices for semi detached houses (0.9%), and terraced houses (0.7%). In the home countries in June, England and Scotland saw falls in inflation, while inflation rose in Wales and Northern Ireland. The inflation rate in England fell from 5.1% in May to 4.6% in June; the inflation rate in Scotland fell from 9.7% to 8.5%. In Northern Ireland the rate rose from 18.0% to 18.5%; in Wales the rate rose from 4.8% to 8.2%.
HOUSE PRICE INFLATION: TYPE OF BUYER
The UK house price inflation rate for first time buyers rose from 6.3% in May to 6.8% in June. This was due to a rise of 0.5% in prices between May and June in the properties bought by first time buyers compared with a smaller rise of less than 0.1% over the same period last year. The inflation rate for former owner occupiers fell from 5.4% in May to 4.7% in June. Although there was a rise of 0.4% in prices between May and June in the properties bought by former owner occupiers, this was less than the larger rise of 1.1% over the same period last year. The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £149,215 in May, while the average price paid by former owner occupiers was £208,657.
