Average UK house price approaches£210k

The average house price in the UK is now almost £210,000 after a two per cent rise in the last month.It represents another example of the UK property market outperforming all expectations, with Rightmove adjusting its forecast for the remainder of 2006 accordingly.At the beginning of 2006, Rightmove predicted that house prices would rise by about five per cent during the course of the year, but recent improvements have prompted it to revise this to eight per cent. Prices actually increased by £4,155 in the month to May 6th and are now 5.9 per cent up from the same time last year.The primary factor behind the health of the UK property market seems to be the sudden surge in demand since Christmas. Numerous recent reports have acknowledged that this demand is far outweighing supply and most areas in the country are seeing significant price increases because of this.For investors, the news is particularly good, as rental demand is also exceptionally high at the moment. Recent surveys have indicated that investors are looking to add more properties to their portfolios and with prices continuing to rise this is perhaps unsurprising.Buy-to-let investment is dependent on strong capital appreciation and solid rental income and it would seem that both aspects are currently working to the advantage of landlords.The largest increases in house prices were seen in the north during the last month, with the average house value boosted by 3.6 per cent. The south-east saw increases of three per cent while the East Midlands enjoyed a rise of 2.8 per cent.Looking at the last 12 months, it is the south-west that leads the way, thanks to price increases of 9.4 per cent, while Greater London is not far behind at 8.7 per cent."Demand is lot more buoyant overall than at this time last year, so a rise of up to ten per cent in the faster moving regions, such as parts of London and the south could be on the cards this year," said Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove.Buy-to-let investors and homebuyers looking purely at capital appreciation will be hugely encouraged by this prediction and it certainly compares favourably to the doom and gloom that descended last year.Good news has also arrived from the Department for Communities and Local Government. The House Price Index for March shows that the mix-adjusted average house price in the UK was £186,519 in the month, rising from £182,925 in February.Annual house price inflation in London was four per cent in March, which was up from just 1.5 per cent in February, while annual house price inflation for the UK as a whole reached 3.3 per cent.The statistics indicate that the average price paid by a first-time buyer in March was £145,214 and the average price paid by former owner occupiers was £204,137.The signs are good for in the UK with prices continuing to climb as the summer months approach. Property investment is increasingly taking a central role in financial planning and with the property market in such good shape, it is little wonder that experts are predicting a huge rise in investment levels in the next couple of years.