The Land Registry House Price Index for December 2006 shows a monthly house price increase of 0.7% and an annual increase of 7.8%. This increase means that the average property price is now £173,717. The year 2006 has concluded with a solid rise in house prices for England and Wales. The past year has seen greater house price appreciation than that witnessed throughout 2005. During the last three months of 2005 the rate of annual change in house prices averaged 3.3%. For the last three months of 2006 the same figure was 7.2%.
London represents the main driving force behind the recent house price growth. The rate of annual increase in London's house prices has been greater than that of England and Wales since March 2006. London's annual growth this month is 10.4% compared with the 7.8% increase of England and Wales as a whole.
Key regional observations:
* All regions in England and Wales experienced average price increases over the last twelve months.
* The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 10.4%.
* The region with the lowest annual price rise is the North East, with an increase of 4.5%.
* London experienced the highest monthly change, with an increase of 2.0%.
* The East and the North East were the only regions to experience negative monthly price changes
