House prices 'increased in 2010'

Britain's average house price increased by £9,286 last year to reach £195,804 in December, figures have revealed.

Assetz house price watch showed that prices climbed by one per cent last year, reaching a 23-month high of £201,860 in July.

The Assetz house price measure compiles monthly averages from the five major house price indices - CLG House Price Index, Halifax, LSL Acadametrics, RightMove and Nationwide.

Stuart Law, chief executive at Assetz, said the results showed concerns over the Comprehensive Spending Review had a larger impact on the market than expected, with annual growth rate slowing down since May.

He said: "However, the three and six month annualised average rates of growth indicate that recent monthly falls in the average house price may well be bottoming out."

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