According to the most recent data from the UK government, the housing market currently being seen by buyers and sellers alike has just gone through what is being seen as a major slump, with the rate house prices are increasing this year reaching its highest point since November 2007.

According for the Department for Communities, property prices in the UK climbed by 9.7% in March, year-on-year, and this represents the twelfth monthly rise in a row as far as annual price rises are concerned.

The figures showed that, on average, the value of a home in the UK went up by 0.7% as compared with February’s figures. The largest price rises were seen in London, although house prices were seen to fall in Northern Ireland.

The figures for March also showed that the price of the average UK home stood at £205,598, although this figure was higher than the average sale price for people getting on the property ladder.  First-time buyers typically paid £151,749, a figure that is 12.6% higher than at the same time last year. The overall average price for homes paid by ex-owner-occupiers stood up 8.6% higher as compared to the same point last year, at £238,794.

As far as the cost of average homes is concerned, the figure in England stood at £212,266, £174,172 in Northern Ireland, £150,648 in Wales, and £165,106 in Scotland. There was little difference in terms of regional variations, as all regions of England saw annual house price inflation rising. The largest rise was seen in London, at 15,6%, with North Wales recording the lowest at 5.1%.

Overall, yearly house price growth stood at 10.1% in England, 8.1% in Wales and 7.2% in Scotland. Northern Ireland bucked the trend, with house prices falling by an average on 6.9% this year through March.

In terms of annual price growth, the figures showed 11.3% in south east England, 9.7% in the south west with the lowest rise in the east midlands at 5.2%. Even in spite of these rises, many in the industry anticipate a difficult year ahead for the property market.