UK house prices increased by 5.2% in the year to August 2015, unchanged from 5.2% in the year to July 2015, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

House price annual inflation was 5.6% in England, 0.8% in Wales, 2.9% in Northern Ireland and -0.9% in Scotland.

The ONS said annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in the East (8.8%) and the South East (7.4%).

Excluding London and the South East, UK house prices increased by 4.8% in the 12 months to August 2015. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.7% between July and August 2015.

In August 2015, prices paid by first-time buyers were 3.8% higher on average than in August 2014. For owner-occupiers (existing owners), prices increased by 5.8% for the same period.

Rishi Passi, CEO of Oblix Capital, said: “House prices in London may have come off the boil slightly in August, but there is still some heat in the wider property market, as demand for housing continues to outpace the supply. House prices reached record levels right across the North West, East, South East, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber, putting further pressure on hopeful buyers.

“For developers, the double digit growth seen in London is a hard act to follow, but we’re starting to see pockets of promise right across the country. Regional cities in the South such as Oxford, Bristol, Portsmouth and Southampton are now showing healthy levels of growth, while further north, the likes of Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast, are starting to see average prices catch up on the highs of 2007.”