London leads house prices in April

House prices rose in April as London continued to pull the national market higher.

New figures from the Land Registry, which records the price of every home that changes hands in England and Wales, show last month the average home cost £179,935.

This is 0.6 per cent higher than the month before and 9.1 per cent higher than in April 2006 - the largest annual rise for almost two years.

House price rises in London are driving much of this growth, with prices up 2.3 per cent in April and 15.6 per cent over the last year.

However, experts highlighted the fact the Land Registry figures reflect completed sales, and so is often behind the market.

"The acceleration in price growth reflects the strength of the market in previous months but does not signal further strength in the future," said David Stubbs, senior economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

"Price rises will moderate as the year progresses. Demand will pull back in the face of higher mortgage interest rates and terrible affordability problems amongst first-time buyers.

"London's out-performance will remain as business and financial services continue to provide the source of much of the UK's economic growth."

Over the last year all regions of England and Wales saw average prices rise. The highest rise was in London (15.6 per cent) the lowest in the East Midlands (six per cent).