House prices climb £2,000 a month as properties rise 10.4% in a year, official figures show

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Homes across the UK rose by £2,000 a month as the average house price jumped 10.4 per cent in the year to October, according to the latest official ONS figures.

Property prices reached an average of £271,000, the index from the Office for National Statistics showed - £24,000 higher than a year earlier.

But the annual pace of inflation was marking slower than seen in previous months. In September, the annual rise peaked with values up 12.1 per cent in a year. 

This October increase marks the smallest annual movement since April, with average prices also edging up 0.1 per cent on a monthly basis. 

Cooling slightly: Annual house price growth slipped back in October according to the latest ONS report

The ONS figures lag a month behind other indexes, but take in actual sale prices for all properties, not just those bought with a mortgage. 

Excluding London and the South East from the October figure, the average house price is a smaller £206,000.

The report comes a day after property website Rightmove revealed December saw asking prices fall by the largest ever amount in a single month, driven largely by London homes being up for sale for £30,000 less than a month ago.

David Newnes, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, said: 'After a solid advance in activity throughout 2014 to date, completed house sales withdrew last month, from a particularly busy October. 

'This doesn’t undermine the strength and stability of the growth in activity experienced over the year as a whole in some locations. Breaking up the outdated and unloved slab system of Stamp Duty should also allow activity to build further at the bottom rungs of the ladder.'

The ONS figures show house prices in England are 12.6 per cent higher than the peak reached in January 2008, before the economic downtown.

In Northern Ireland they are 47.5 per cent below, Scotland one per cent lower and Wales 0.3 per cent off peaks reached before the crisis.

Average house prices increased strongly in all nine English regions over the year to October 2014, with the largest increase in London at 17.2 per cent followed by the South East at 11.9 per cent and the East 9.6 per cent.

Elsewhere, the data shows average price for properties bought by first-time buyers increased by 12 per cent over the year to October.

This is down from an increase of 13.3 per cent in September 2014. Last month, the average price paid for a house by a first-time buyer was £208,000.

But Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: 'Worryingly, first-time buyers are paying 12 per cent more, on average, than they were a year ago. 

'While it has become easier and cheaper to access higher loan-to-value mortgages, there shouldn't be a risk of buyers over stretching themselves with the tougher requirements introduced as a result of the mortgage market review. 

'However, there comes a point when the numbers don't add up so the fact that price growth is slowing is to be welcomed.' 

The average price for properties bought by former owner-occupiers increased by 9.7 per cent in the year to October.

This is lower than the 11.5 per cent growth in September 2014. Last month, the average price paid for a house by a former owner-occupier was £312,000.