The March data from Land Registry’s House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 7.5%, making the average property value in England and Wales £164,288.

The monthly change from February to March is a decrease of 0.6%.

All regions in England and Wales experienced increases in their average property values over the last 12 months. The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 13%. The region with the lowest annual price rise is Wales with a movement of 1.1%.

London and the North East experienced the greatest monthly rises with movements of 1.6%. The East Midlands is the region with the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -2.1%.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during January 2010, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales rose by 30% to 34,171 from 26,208 in January 2009.