London house-price increases slow, but elsewhere in the UK the market is still booming

New figures from the Land Registry show a sharp slowing in the increase in house prices in London in the third quarter of 2004. The average property in the capital is now worth £287,470, 3.4% more than in the second quarter. There was an increase of 6.7% between the first and second quarters of this year.

But away from the South east there is little evidence for a slowdown yet. The average British house price rose 6.7% to £187,971; faster than the 5.7% increase seen between the first and second quarters.

In the Land Registry’s list of towns still seeing price increases, Wales took seven of the top ten spots, with Anglesey at the top of the pile. In the year to September, the average price of a house on the island rocketed from just under £90,000 to £130,000, an increase of almost 50%.

Based on actual transactions, rather than agreed sales, the Land Registry’s figures are slightly retrospective, but are regarded as the most reliable in the industry.