Official average house prices in the UK rose by 6.2% in the year to January 2017 (up from 5.7% in the year to December 2016), according to the Office for National Statistics, continuing the strong growth seen since the end of 2013.

However, this still remains below the average annual house price growth seen in 2016 of 7.4%.

The average UK house price was £218,000 in January 2017. This is £13,000 higher than in January 2016 and £1,000 higher than last month.

British boost

In England, house prices increased by 6.5% over the year to January 2017, with the average price now £235,000. Wales saw house prices increase by 4.2% over the last 12 months to stand at £146,000. In Scotland, the average price increased by 4.0% over the year to stand at £142,000. The average price in Northern Ireland currently stands at £125,000, an increase of 5.7% over the last 12 months

The East of England is the region which showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 9.4% in the year to January 2017.

The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where prices increased by 2.2% over the year.

Charles McDowell, commercial director, mortgages from Aldermore Bank said: “House prices continue to outstrip wage increases. This is further supported by data released from the ONS last week which revealed that the affordability ratio has more than doubled since 1997, indicating that people could expect to pay 7.72 times their annual earnings to buy a home last year.

“It is clear that demand continues to outmatch supply, and these figures show the struggle that those raising a deposit for their first home are likely to continue in 2017. As first-time buyers are the driving force of the property market, more needs to be done to tackle the supply issue to ensure they have the best opportunity to get on the housing ladder.”

Rob Weaver, director of investments at Property Partner, added: “Increasingly it appears the north-south divide has returned. The North East, in particular, is dragging behind the rest of the country, even suffering a monthly fall in property prices alongside Yorkshire and The Humber in January.”