British April house prices up 2.6%

The British house prices in April 2013 increased by 2.6 percent year on year, down from a 2.7 percent growth rate in March, said the Office of National Statistics (ONS) on Tuesday. The ONS said that house price growth remains stable across most of Britain, although prices in London are increasing faster than the country's average. The year-on-year increase reflected growth of 2.8 percent in England and 6.2 percent in Wales, which were offset by declines of 1.2 percent in Scotland and 0.8 percent in Northern Ireland, data showed. In April 2013, prices paid by the first-time buyer were 4.7 percent higher on average than a year before. Meanwhile, prices increased by 1.9 percent year on year for owner-occupiers, or existing owners, according to the ONS.