The average UK house price increased by £23 a day in December

House prices in the UK are accelerating faster than analysts predicted.

Nationwide published its monthly report on house prices and it contained good news for home owners, but not so great news for those looking to get on the housing ladder.

Nationwide said house prices increased by 0.8% in December - that's up from a 0.1% increase in November and more than analysts' estimates of 0.5%.

The average price of a home in Britain increased to £196,999 from £196,305 this month, working out to about £23 a day.

The uptick puts the annual pace of house price growth at 4.5%, from 3.7% in November.

Here are the main bullet points from the report. UK house prices may be on fire but the increases are not distributed equally around the country:

• London was the strongest performing region for the fifth year running, with average prices up 12% year-on-year.
• Average prices in the capital are now 50% above their pre-crisis peak in 2007.
• Price growth in the South exceeded that in the North for the 27th consecutive quarter. Prices in southern England were up 8.9% year-on-year, whilst in northern England prices rose by just 1.6%.
• In cash terms, the gap in average prices between the South and the North of England widened further and now stands at nearly £159,000, around £23,000 higher than a year ago.
• Overall, UK house prices will rise by 3-6% over the next twelve months.

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