House prices up 0.3 per cent

HOUSE PRICES picked up by 0.3 per cent in September, reversing a slip of 0.1 per cent in August, according to a monthly house price index from the Halifax.

The data flatly contradicts an survey earlier this week from Nationwide, a rival of Halifax, which recorded a fall in prices for the second consecutive month.

Halifax said the discrepancy might be because its sample of houses was less skewed towards the South-East. It said prices have risen year on year by 5.4 per cent, with the average price paid by first time buyers at pounds 52,703.