The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said the average price of a home in the North East was £168,000 in March 2025, a rise of 4.2% on the previous month and 14.3% higher than the year before, an average rise of £24,000. In London, house prices fell 0.3% during the month, and went up just 0.8% during the previous year - or £4,416 - with the average price of a home in the capital at £552,000 in March 2025.

Property prices in the UK rose 6.4% in the 12 months to March, in the highest annual jump seen since December 2022, thanks in part to buyers rushing through purchases before the stamp duty hike in April. The average property is now worth £271,000, £16,000 higher than in March 2024. In Wales, house prices fell by 0.2% during the month, although over the 12-month period, prices increased 3.6%, taking the average property value to £208,000.

Jonathan Hopper, chief executive of Garrington Property Finders, said house prices had been buoyed by a rush to complete before stamp duty hikes came in.

He said: “Even though it’s firmly in the rear view mirror, the stamp duty stampede’s last hurrah was striking, breathless and unlikely to be repeated.

“After flatlining in February, the average price paid for homes in the UK surged by 1.1% in the final weeks before the tax on home purchases increased. The thousands of buyers who stretched every sinew - and offered high - to close the deal before the deadline pushed up the average prices paid."

Mr Hopper added: "The distorting effect was strongest in regions where price rises were already running hot. Petrol was poured on fire in North East England - where the average price paid spiked 4.2% in just a month and annual inflation climbed to a dizzying 14.3%.

"Across northern England, prices rose by more than 2% over the month and more than 9% on an annual basis.

“With average prices falling in London in March, the north-south divide widened and it was the northern powerhouses that dragged the national average up to 6.4% over the year. Impressive though this is, it is likely to prove a high water mark.

“Many estate agents returned to tumbleweed territory in April, and the pace of price rises cooled in many areas. In May, the dust has settled and price movements are once again being dictated by the forces of supply and demand.

“Strong demand is pushing up prices in northern England and other regions where buyers see that their money goes further, where the price-to-earnings ratio still makes sense, and where mortgage repayments can often be lower than rental costs.

“At the other end of the scale, average prices paid in London have now fallen for two months in a row. After flatlining in 2024, annual growth in the capital is still modest, with family homes in particular getting cheaper."

“This is not a boom, it is a recalibration. Buyers are being selective and strategic, and the market is rewarding value over vanity.”