Date issued: 31 Jan 2006

HOUSING MARKET GETS OFF TO A STRONG START IN 2006

• House prices increased by 1.4% in January, bringing the annual growth rate to 4.4%
• Three quarters of the annual increase in prices came in the last 4 months
• However, the fundamentals of the market remain fairly fragile and will prevent strong price rises in 2006

Headlines	January 2006	December 2005
Monthly index* Q1 '93 = 100	321.5	317.0
Monthly change*	1.4%	0.5%
Annual change	4.4%	3.0%
Average price	£158,478	£157,250

*seasonally adjusted

For further information please see this month's full report (PDF - 44KB)