First-time buyers paid 5.9% more for a house this year

House prices are only going one way at the moment - up.

UK house prices increased by 7.0% in the year to October 2015, up from 6.1% in the year to September 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 5.6% in the 12 months to October.

It's bad news for first-time buyers as usual. They paid 5.9% more for a house in October 2015 as they did in the same month in 2014.

The average house price in England hit £300,000 in England, compared with £174,000 in Wales, £196,000 in Scotland and £158,000 in Northern Ireland.