The average house price of new build property in the UK has risen by 12% over the past five years, according to the Halifax.

The average price of a new build now stands at £233,822.

This is 9% higher than the UK average house price for all properties.

Nationally, there has been an increase of 40%, from £166,473 over the past 10 years. Regionally, the biggest rise in the past decade has been in Greater London where the average price for a new home has risen by 57% to £415,540.

The Halifax said the north-south divide is as prevalent in the price of the new homes market as it is in the overall market. Over the past five years, more than half of UK regions saw the average price of new homes fall, with the north experiencing the greatest fall of 10% to an average of £157,190.

In 2012, flats (37%) were the most popular type of new property sold, followed by terraced homes (24%) and detached properties (23%). Yorkshire and the Humber had the greatest proportion of terraced properties sold (30%), with Greater London seeing the highest proportion of sales of new build flats in 2012 (88%).

Craig McKinlay, new mortgages director for Halifax, said: “In a relatively flat housing market, the new homes market has changed enormously over the past five years. We have seen a lot of positive sentiment towards the new homes market, with various schemes launched to get the house building industry moving and changes in policies and deposit requirements allowing shared equity buyers to participate more fully in the new build market.

“We are continuing to increase the number of builders we are working with and it is a testament to our commitment to put the purchase of a new-build home back within the grasp of both first time buyers and homemovers.”