The upward spiral in house prices means the typical home is on the brink of crashing through the £100,000 barrier, according to government figures for England and Wales published this week.
They reveal that the average property has increased in value by a record 16.8% over the last year - from £84,973 to £99,295. But a closer look at the data reveals that the north-south divide in property prices is wider than ever, making such averages increasingly meaningless.
In Greater London, for example, the average price-tag is now £163,317 - 23% up on a year ago, when it was £132,570. This annual rate of house price growth is more than four times that experienced by the north of England, where property values rose only 5% over the same period. There, the average home sells for £59,343.
The figures from the Land Registry, a government department (www.landreg.gov.uk), compare prices in the first three months of this year with the same period last year. They are generally regarded as providing the most accurate picture of the state of the housing market because they are based on the vast majority of all house sales.
One revelation is that, contrary to what many might have imagined, London is no longer leading the way in terms of house price growth. Prices are rising faster than anywhere else in the genteel Georgian spa town of Bath, where a typical property will now set you back £130,470 - a whopping 38% up on a year ago, when the figure was £94,028.
Meanwhile, two southern seaside towns, Brighton and Bournemouth, are basking in the glow of annual price growth of 27% and 25% respectively. Average property prices there are £106,169 and £98,000 respectively. Reading is another star performer, with prices there up 26% over the year, and several other locations are giving London a run for its money including Surrey, the town of Poole and Windsor and Maidenhead.
At the other end of the spectrum, six areas saw property prices fall over the past year: Carmarthenshire, Kingston-upon-Hull, Darlington, north-east Lincolnshire, Rutland and Warrington.
London figures provide further evidence that the housing boom has filtered through to traditionally less lusted-after areas. In the borough of Newham prices have surged 38% in a year (from £63,689 to £87,777) and in Southwark the increase was 32% (from £121,574 to £160,477).
But anyone who thought that London's most desirable locations might be calming down after the huge price increases of the last couple of years is in for a surprise. Buried deep within the Land Registry's 20-page report is a remarkable statistic: the average terraced house in Kensington and Chelsea now costs £1,153,000. That's more than double what you'd have paid a year ago.
So it's no surprise to learn that of the 237 houses sold for more than £1m in Greater London between January and March this year, 101 are in Kensington and Chelsea. Westminster comes in second place on the rich list with 62 £1m-plus properties.
It's no wonder so many people believe the property boom has driven prices up to unrealistic levels. Research out this week reveals that 45% of all homeowners think houses in their area are overvalued. This figure rises to 63% in London and the south.
The survey was conducted by NOP for online estate agent asserta home, which has nearly 150 properties on its website (www.assertahome.com) valued at more than £2m. "City bonuses and dot.com windfalls are undoubtedly fuelling the buoyant nature of the top end of the market," says an asserta home spokesman. The phenomenon has led to some streets in London being made up entirely of £1m-plus homes.
It all begs the question: how long can the boom carry on? Well, figures out this week from Nationwide building society back up suggestions from other commentators that the market is beginning to run out of steam. It says that house prices fell 0.4% in May - the first monthly fall for almost two years - on the back of recent stock market jitters, fears of higher interest rates and the April abolition of Miras (mortgage interest tax relief).
With the economy in good shape, there is little to suggest the housing market is heading for a slump, says the Nationwide. But it adds: "Compared with the start of the year, recent economic growth is moderately slower, the number of houses being sold is lower and consumers are feeling less confident."
