House prices rise 1.2% in October

The average price of a house is now £165,528, with prices increasing 7.1% since the April trough. The bank says the rise has been fuelled by a combination of better economic conditions and a pick-up in demand arising from lower interest rates. "Higher demand has combined with a low level of properties available for sale to result in rising prices over the past few months." But although prices in the three months to October are 2.9% higher than the previous quarter, they are still 4.7% lower than this time last year. And there is a concern that the rise is only a temporary state ...