House price changes across the country

Published: Tuesday, 8 April 2008, 5:05PM

Figures from Britain's biggest lender Halifax showed the average cost of a home dropped by 2.5 per cent in March, the biggest fall since September 1992 and the second largest drop ever.

The sharpest falls were were seen in the West Midlands and Wales while during the first quarter of this year, the biggest rises were in Greater London (1.6 per cent), East Anglia (1.4 per cent) and East Midlands (2.2 per cent).

Prices in the North (1.2 per cent) and Scotland (0.2 per cent) also rose, and the cost of housing in the South East remained the same.

But the West Midlands (-5.0 per cent) and Wales (-4.7 per cent) saw the sharpest decrease, and prices also dropped in the South West (-2.6 per cent), Northern Ireland (-1.5 per cent), Yorkshire & the Humber (-0.5 per cent) and the North West (-0.5 per cent).

But over the past year, three quarters of the UK has seen a rise in house prices.

The biggest rises were in Scotland (5.3 per cent) and Northern Ireland (3.5 per cent).

The areas where prices fell were the South West (-3.3 per cent), West Midlands (-3.7 per cent) and Wales (-5.3 per cent).

Regional figures for the last quarter (per cent) are:

North - up 1.2 per cent

Yorkshire & the Humber - down 0.5 per cent

North West  - down 0.5 per cent

East Midlands - up 2.2 per cent

West Midlands - down 5 per cent

East Anglia - up 1.4 per cent

South West - down 2.6 per cent

South East  - remained the same

Greater London - up 1.6 per cent

Wales - down 4.7 per cent

Scotland - down 0.2 per cent

Northern Ireland - down 1.5 per cent

UK - down 1.0 per cent