House prices in south east London continue to rise

Across London, property prices have fallen by 1.0% in the last year, to £471,986, but that is not something mirrored in the south east.

Bromley, Bexley, Lewisham and Greenwich have all seen a growth in house prices over the past 12 months.

Bexley has experienced the biggest rise over the past year, rising 4.1 per cent over the past 12 months, despite a 0.4 per cent drop in February.

Bromley also continues to grow, with a 3.8 per cent rise, as does Greenwich with a 1.1 per cent and Lewisham with a 2.7 per cent.

The data comes from the House Price Index, which the ONS compiles using house sale information from the Land Registry, and the equivalent bodies in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

The average homeowner in Bexley will have seen their property jump in value by around £131,000 in the last five years.

The figures also showed that buyers who made their first step onto the property ladder in Bexley in February spent an average of £307,375 - around £118,000 more than it would have cost them five years ago.

Addressing the national picture, Lawrence Bowles, the associate director of the research team at the estate agents Savills said: "Generally, we are seeing somewhat slower growth than we have been previously.

"Despite much stronger consumer confidence in the spending power of the pound, last month we saw the 12th consecutive month of lower buyer enquiries, and seventh of sales enquiries.

"The ongoing Brexit negotiations form a big part of that, but it is also related to the signs from the Bank of England that we are likely to see the base rates increase, and the knock-on effect that will have on the mortgage rates."

The highest house prices in the country in February were found in Kensington and Chelsea, where properties sold for an average of £1,409,606 - 18 times the cost of a home in Burnley, where the average home cost just £79,208.