UK house prices: First-time buyer inflation is slowing, according to ONS house price index
This could be the news first-time buyers have been waiting for.
House prices for those getting a foot on the ladder increased by 3.8 per cent in the year to August, down from an increase of 4.4 per cent in the year to July, ONS figures out this morning show.
The average price for a first-time buyer in that period was £215,000.
Meanwhile, existing owners saw house prices increase by 5.8 per cent in the year – up from 5.5 per cent for the 12 months to July – to an average of £332,000.
Throughout the UK, house prices rose by 5.2 per cent – unchanged from last month. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.7 per cent between July and August.
England experienced the strongest rate of inflation, up 5.6 per cent, while prices rose 2.9 per cent in Northern Ireland and 0.8 per cent in Wales.
In Scotland, house prices fell by 0.9 per cent.
As always, the UK's growth was driven by the South East, where prices were up 7.4 per cent, and the East, where prices were up 8.8 per cent. Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 4.8 per cent over the period.