The UK house price inflation rate fell from 13.7% in November to 10.7% in December. The Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said today. This was due to a fall in prices by 0.7% between November and December compared with an increase in prices by 2.0% over the same period last year.

The figures, which are produced in conjunction with the Office of National Statistics, are based upon 'completions' data from about 50 mortgage lenders and so appear later than other indices.

The fall in UK prices between November and December can be attributed to falls in prices for detached houses by 1.3%, terraced houses by 0.6% and flats by 0.8%.

The mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in December 2004 stood at £178,906, down from £180,126 in November (not seasonally adjusted).

House price inflation - regional

All the home countries except for Northern Ireland saw a fall in their annual inflation rate in December. The inflation rate in Northern Ireland rose from 13.5% in November to 16.0% in December. Inflation in England fell from 13.0% in November to 10.1% in December. Annual inflation in Wales fell from 24.1% in November to 20.8% in December. Scotland saw inflation fall from 19.5% to 13.6% over the same period.

The fall in annual house price inflation for the whole of England in December was also reflected across all regions. The highest rates remain in the North East (20.5%), Yorkshire and the Humber (18.8%) and the North West (17.8%). Inflation rates in these regions remain substantially higher than in the rest of England, although rates in the West Midlands, the East Midlands and the South West also remain above 10%.

Inflation in London fell from 7.0% in November to 3.0% in December - due to a fall in prices between November and December this year compared to rise over the same period last year.

House prices - regional

Mix-adjusted average house prices in December were £191,141 in England, £141,004 in Wales, £114,251 in Scotland and £116,261 in Northern Ireland.

The English region with the highest average house price in December was London at £257,195. The lowest average price was in the North East at £128,991. Only the East, London, South East and the South West had average prices above the UK average.

House price inflation - type of buyer

The UK house price inflation rate for first time buyers fell from 15.2% in November to 13.3% in December. This was due to a rise of 0.7% in prices between November and December, compared with a rise of 2.4% seen over the same period last year.

The inflation rate for former owner-occupiers fell from 13.1% in November to 9.8% in December. This was due to a fall of 1.2% in prices between November and December, compared with a rise of 1.8% over the same period last year.

The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £145,408 in December, while the average price paid by former owner-occupiers was £197,059.