House price growth slows to 5-year low

ANNUAL house price growth across the UK slowed to its weakest levels in over five years in October, official figures show.

And for the first time since 2011, annual house price falls have now rippled out into the London suburbs following a falling trend already seen across central London this year.

Average house prices across the UK increased by 2.7 per cent in the year to October, slowing down from 3 per cent annual growth in September 2018.

This marked the lowest annual growth since July 2013 when it was 2.3 per cent, according to the report, released jointly by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), Land Registry and other bodies. Over the past two years, there has been a slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the South and East of England, the report said.

The average UK house price was £231,000 in October, falling by 0.2 per cent month-on-month. Across London as a whole, house prices fell by 1.7 per cent annually in October to reach £474,000 on average.