Construction: Housing

In May, according to the ONS and Land Registry, UK house prices increased 1.2% year-on-year, down from 1.5% in April. By nation, the largest annual house price growth was recorded in Wales, where prices increased 3.0% year-on-year in May, whilst growth of 2.8% and 1.0% was recorded in Scotland and England respectively. In Northern Ireland, house prices rose 3.5% in the year to Q1.

According to region, annual house price increases in England were driven by ris-es in the North West (3.4%), followed by the West Midlands (2.7%). The lowest annual growth was reported in London, where prices fell for the eleventh consecutive month (-4.4%). This also marked the sharpest annual decline since August 2009. Overall, the average UK house price in May was £229,431. The lowest was £127,885 in the North East and the highest was £457,471 in London. Although London and the South East remained the weakest perform-ing regions in May, there were also signs of a slowdown in other English regions, with Yorkshire and the Humber (1.9%) recording the weakest annual house price growth since November 2013.