South West house prices drop
Average house prices in the South West have dropped to £170,504, the Land Registry has reported.
The 0.9 per cent monthly fall means that average residential property prices in the region have sunk by 1.5 per cent over a year – the third highest result in the UK.
The figure, covering December 2011, comes as the average house price for all England and Wales fell by 1.3 per cent over the year to £160,384. There was no month-on-month change.
The North West experienced the biggest month-on-month rise of 1.5 per cent to £113,204 while the North East suffered a 1.9 per cent monthly fall to £99,464.
The cheapest houses in the country continue to be in the North East with London now recording an average house price of £345,298 - 0.8 per cent up on November's figure. The steepest annual drop, of 7.1 per cent, was recorded in the North East with London the only area to report a rise in house prices of 2.8 per cent.
