House prices edge ahead, but only in the South

House prices edged ahead by 0.2 per cent during September, as the number of people looking to rent a home has also picked up.

The average home in England and Wales is now worth £156,100, only 5.6 per cent less than a year ago, according to Hometrack, the property intelligence group.

The market continued to recover more quickly in southern regions than northern ones, with London and the South East rising the most, by 0.4 per cent and 0.3 per cent respectively. The South West and West Midlands also saw a slight growth, 0.1 per cent each, but the rest of the country stayed the same. Despite the overall growth, only 15 per cent of postcode areas saw an increase during September, with prices unchanged in more than four fifths of the country.