The latest Quarterly Index from Nationwide reports that the weakest annual house price is in the Midlands, with strong performance in London continuing to widen the North-South gap.
The average house price in London has now broken the £300,000 barrier, so first-time buyers will not benefit from £250,000 stamp duty threshold. Elsewhere house price forecasts remain on track in most UK regions.
The average UK house price in Quarter 3 (July to September) is £184,131, up from £181,810 in Quarter 2, an increase of 1.6% (seasonally adjusted).
The annual percentage increase in UK house prices now stands at 9.3%.
Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "The rate of house price growth in the UK cooled from 10.2% to 9.3% in the third quarter. Evidence of this cooling was supported further by regional data which showed the annual rate of house price growth slowed in nine out of Nationwide's thirteen regions. Northern Ireland topped the rankings of fastest house price inflation for the 10th consecutive quarter. Prices increased at an annual rate of 42.6% in the third quarter, but Northern Ireland was also the region to see the largest slowdown in house price growth, moderating from a staggering 54% in the second quarter. London saw the second fastest rate of growth in the UK at 16.5%, followed by Scotland at 12.2% and then the capital's immediate neighbours of Outer Metropolitan and Outer South East at 11% and 10.1% respectively. London also saw the average house price increase above £300,000 for the first time. The East and West Midlands regions came at the bottom of the house price growth rankings in the second quarter, with prices growing at around half the UK average, at annual rates of 4.8% and 4.6% respectively."
