London average property prices hit nearly half a million

Average property prices in London were £458,283 compared with £97,974 in the North East of England in January, Land Registry data has shown

The gap between the most expensive and the cheapest regional average house prices in England and Wales is more than £350,000, figures show.

Prices across England and Wales rose by 1.3% on average compared with December.

The annual rate of increase slowed to 6.7%, with every region seeing at least a slight rise over the year.

Prices of semi-detached homes increased the fastest, with a 7.4% rise over the same period.

The average property price in England and Wales was £179,492 in January, the figures show.

Families looking to move to London from other areas of the country will find they have little chance of buying an equivalent sized property in the capital, despite a likely increase in wages.

Yet, Business Secretary Vince Cable said that the generational divide in home ownership was arguably a bigger issue, describing the situation as “unhealthy”.