LONDON, Sept. 12 (Xinhua) -- The annual increase in house prices in London is less than half the British average, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said in its latest property report Tuesday.
At the same time the cost of a home in the British capital is more than double the average across Britain, and three times what the average property price in Wales.
ONS has based its latest statistics on figures supplied by Britain's official Land Registry.
ONS said in England the annual price increase reached 5.4 percent in July, taking the average property value to 322,344 U.S. dollars, a one percent increase compared with June, 2017.
In London house prices in July were 0.3 percent lower than the previous month, with the annual price increase of 2.8 percent taking the average property value to 647,722 U.S.dollars.
Wales registered an annual price increase of 3.1 percent, putting the average property value at a fraction under 200,000 U.S. dollars.
Regional data for England and Wales shows that property prices in the East Midlands have seen the greatest annual rise, averaging 7.5 percent, compared to the 2.8 percent rise in London which was the lowest annual increase across England and Wales. It is the eighth consecutive month when house price growth in London has remained below the British average, said ONS.
Property transactions across Britain in July were 8.3 percent higher than in the same month a year earlier, and 1.3 percent higher than in June, 2017.
Detached houses in London remained the most expensive properties in England and Wales with an average price tag of more than 1.2 million U.S. dollars, while a flat or maisonette in Wales was the cheapest with an average price of 140,000 U.S. dollars.
A single purchase
