London remains the most expensive place in the UK to buy a house, with the average property there costing £548,288, up 2.8% from a year earlier.
Properties in Northern Ireland saw the strongest annual price rise of 5.9%, with an average property now at £205,473.
House prices in Wales rose 3.6% compared to last year, with property values averaging £227,397.
In England, the North East replaced the North West as the region with the strongest annual price growth, with values increasing by 5.2% to £178,696.
Scotland saw a lower rise in house prices overall, up 2.4%, with properties now costing an average of £210,690.
“At present price inflation is centred on northern England and Wales,” said Jonathan Hopper, chief executive of Garrington Property Finders.
“Elsewhere, the price rises are much more modest and sellers need to price their homes carefully or risk seeing them stuck unsold on the shelf.”
Halifax’s house price data is based on its own mortgage lending, which does not include buyers who purchase homes with cash, or buy-to-let deals. Cash buyers account for about a third of housing sales.
