11 out of 13 UK regions saw annual price falls during 2012, the Nationwide Building Society has reported.

Average UK house prices rose by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2012, after allowing for seasonal effects. Prices were down 1.1% over the year as a whole.

Unsurprisingly, London was the best performing region in 2012.

Meanwhile, within England, the North/South divide in property prices continued to widen.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “England continued to outperform the other home nations, with prices down 0.4% in annual terms.

“Wales was second, with prices down 2.7% over the year, while Scotland saw prices fall by 3.3% compared with Q4 2011. Northern Ireland remained at the bottom of the table, with prices down 8.2% on an annual basis.

“Amongst the English regions, London was again the best performing area, with prices up 0.7% compared with Q4 2012. The South West was the only other region to record price growth over the year, with the rest seeing small declines.

“With the exception of East Anglia, the South of England and the Midlands outperformed the North of England. Yorkshire & Humberside was the weakest performing English region, with prices down 2.5% over the year.

“Within England, the North/South divide in property prices continued to widen, with the price of a typical home in the South now around £95,000 more than in the North, a new high and around 2% more than at the close of 2011.”

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, added: “Increased loan availability and better rates as a result of Funding for Lending will mean a slightly more positive picture for the housing and mortgage markets this year.

“However, criteria will still remain tight even while mortgage rates fall a little so borrowers will need to seek advice if they want to take the plunge, particularly if their circumstances are even slightly complicated or unusual.”