Land registry data for the first quarter of this year show that houses prices in England and Wales rose a nominal 6.5 per cent. There are regional differences; London prices rose by 13.8 per cent. What the numbers show is that despite EU jitters and stamp duty increases, these are the fastest annual growth rates since the last quarter of 2014.
Interestingly, while the figures show that nominal prices have overtaken the pre-crisis peak, in real terms they are still 10 per cent below that peak. Regional differences are highlighted by the fact that house prices in parts of the North East haven't really shown any significant increase since before the financial crash.
At the other end of the scale London house prices are £100,000 higher in real terms than the 2007 peak. If that increase relies on local buyers, the trend seems to be unsustainable, although much depends on how demand holds up from international investors, who have provided the impetus behind the post-crash increase.
