Expats remain very happy!

House prices have hit a fresh record high in the UK, but property inflation has slowed to its lowest level since March 2017, according to official figures.

The average house price was up 3.9% in the year to £227,000 in the year to April, the ONS revealed today.

London house prices staged a surprise bounce in the month, rising 2.4%, with annual property inflation in the capital returning to positive territory at 1%

As a further reflection of that, prices of flats and maisonettes have been weakest over the past year – rising by just 1.7% in the year to April, to £202,000.

Their weak prices were driven by “negative annual growth in London for this property type” the capital accounting for a quarter of all flat and maisonette sales in the UK.

While flats and maisonettes struggle to command higher prices, the average price of a semi-detached house increased by the most, at 5.4%, to £315,000.

The price of terraced homes rose by 4.7% to an average of £184,304, while detached homes were up 3.95% to £342,154.

Annual house price inflation has been slowing since mid-2016, and, with the exception of October 2017, has stayed firmly under the 5% mark.

Despite that the cost of the average home rose by £19,000 in the two years from April 2016 to the same month this year.

In England, average property prices grew by 3.7% to around £244,000, while Wales saw an increase of 4.4% to £156,000.

As a result, the increase in house prices is more to do with the lack of supply of appropriate property in places where people most want to live rather than a marked improvement in confidence.

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