ONS annual house prices up 8.9% in April

The annual growth rate in the UK property market dropped slightly in April, to 8.9%, down from 9.9% in March, according to the Office for National Statistics. Key takeaways from the data are:
- UK average house prices increased by 8.9% over the year to April 2021, down from 9.9% in March 2021.
- Average house prices increased over the year in England to £268,000 (8.9%), in Wales to £185,000 (15.6%), in Scotland to £161,000 (6.3%) and in Northern Ireland to £149,000 (6.0%).
- London continues to be the region with the lowest annual growth (3.3%) for the fifth consecutive month.
A selection of views from Newspage property and mortgage experts on today's data are listed below.