UK house prices up 1% in 2011

3 January 2012 10:43 am | By Natalie Thomas

House prices fell by 0.2 per cent in December but increased by 1 per cent throughout 2011, according to Nationwide Building Society.

The price of a typical home is now £163,822, according to the building society.

London saw the strongest growth in 2011, with prices rising by 5.5 per cent over the course of the year.

This is the second time in three years that London has topped the regional house price performance table.

Prices in the capital are now just 1.6 per cent below their all time highs, while in the UK as a whole prices are still 10 per cent below their peak.

However, Northern Ireland saw house prices fall by 8.7 per cent in 2011 - the average house prices in Northern Ireland ended the year at half the level prevailing at their all time highs in late 2007.

Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner says: “The 1 per cent rise in house prices recorded over the past twelve months could hardly be described as a strong performance but against a backdrop of anaemic economic growth and a deteriorating labour market, UK house prices were surprisingly resilient in 2011.”

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