According to the government's figures house price inflation rate rose by 1.2% to 13.8% in November.

The figures, which are produced by the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister 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 mix-adjusted average house price in the UK in November 2004 stood at £180,226, down from £180,444 in October (not seasonally adjusted).

Annual house price inflation in London was 7.1% in November 2004, up from 7.0% in October.

The fall in UK prices between October and November can be attributed to falls in prices for detached houses by 0.7% and flats by 0.5%, only partially offset by rises in prices of semi-detached houses by 0.4% and terraced houses by 0.1%.

All the home countries except for Northern Ireland saw a rise in their annual inflation rate in November. The inflation rate in Northern Ireland was unchanged at 13.4%. Inflation in England rose from 11.9% in October to 13.1% in November. Annual inflation in Wales rose from 23.2% in October to 24.2% in November. Scotland saw inflation rise from 17.8% to 19.5% over the same period.

The rise in annual house price inflation for the whole of England in November was also reflected across all regions except for the West Midlands, where the rate was unchanged. The highest rates remain in the North East (26.2%), the North West (21.1%) and Yorkshire and the Humber (21.7%). Inflation rates in these regions remain substantially higher than in the rest of England, although rates in the East Midlands, the West Midlands and the South West also remain high at above 15%. Inflation in London rose slightly from 7.0% in October to 7.1% in November - due to a marginally lower fall in prices between October and November this year compared with last year.

House prices: regional

Mix-adjusted average house prices in November were £192,713 in England, £139,544 in Wales, £116,543 in Scotland and £111,314 in Northern Ireland.

The English region with the highest average house price in November was London at £262,825. The lowest average price was in the North East at £130,244.

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 rose from 12.5% in October to 15.0% in November. This was due to a rise of 0.3% in prices between October and November, compared with a fall of 2.0% seen over the same period last year. The inflation rate for former owner-occupiers rose from 12.7% in October to 13.3% in November. This was due to a fall of 0.3% in prices between October and November, compared with a fall of 0.8% over the same period last year.

The average price paid by first time buyers across the whole of the UK was £144,226 in November, while the average price paid by former owner-occupiers was £199,734.