UK house prices rose by 1.7% in September, equating to an increase of £4,400 to the value of the average property, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index.

This means that UK house prices are now at a record high of £267,500.

This month-on-month rise is the strongest increase since February 2007 and ups year-on-year house price inflation up to 7.4%.

This also reversed the recent three-month downward trend in annual growth, which had peaked at an annual rate of 9.6% in May.

Wales continued to record the strongest house price inflation of any UK region or nation, with annual growth of 11.5% in September (average house price of £194,286).

Scotland also continues to outperform the UK national average, with growth of 8.3% (average house price of £188,525).

The Southwest remained the strongest performing region in England, with annual house price growth of 9.7% (average house price of £276,226).

The Northwest saw the next biggest increase, with house prices up by 9% year-on-year (average house price of £201,927), marginally ahead of Yorkshire and Humber at 8.9% (average house price of £186,815).

The weakest performing regions in terms of annual house price inflation are all to be found in the South and East of England, though these are also the areas with the highest average house prices.

Eastern England has seen annual growth of 7.2% (average house price of £310,664) while in the Southeast it is 7% (average house price of £360,795).

Greater London remains the outlier, with annual growth of just 1% (average house price of £510,515) and was again the only region or nation to record a fall in house prices over the latest rolling three-monthly period (0.1%).

Eight in 10 expat borrowers searching for mortgages in August were looking at fixed-rate deals, according to new analysis.

Fixed-rate mortgages are, as the name suggests, deals in which the interest rate remains the same for the term of the deal. Borrowers can choose deals in which they fix their rate for two, five-years or even 10 years.

While 80.1% were searching for the availability of fixed-rate deals, just under 20% were looking for variable rates – which offer interest rates based on external factors, such as the Bank of England base rate.

Currently the Bank of England has set rates at a low of 0.1% but there are some fears this could be increased, particularly as inflation is currently high.

Moneyfacts said in these times of economic uncertainty, it would seem the majority of borrowers had decided it would be easier to budget by protecting themselves from future interest rate volatility in the shelter of a fixed deal.

The data demonstrated a vast majority of potential new mortgage holders may be more risk-averse in the current economic climate.

Nearly 87% of the deals in the ‘fixed rate’ mortgage market were two or five-year products. Meanwhile, a third of borrowers were looking for a two-year deal whilst just over a quarter were searching for a five-year deal.

Longer term financial stability may also be in the forefront of consumers’ minds as the economy moves forwards.

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