UK house prices increase

House prices have increased by almost ten per cent in the UK over the last year, according to new official figures.

This could come as good news to expats who have retained a property in the UK and who are considering using the value of their property assets to boost their retirement income through the use of a lifetime mortgage.

According to recently-published data from the Department for Communities and Local Government UK house prices increased by 9.7 per cent between March 2009 and March 2010.

The figure comes after a 0.7 per cent rise between February and March this year.

Those with a property in England saw their properties increase in value the most with annual growth of 10.1 per cent, followed by Wales with 8.1 per cent growth and Scotland, where prices increased by 7.2 per cent.

According to the report, the average house price in the UK stood at £205,598 at the end of March 2010.

If you are curious about how much of an income the value of your property in the UK could provide you with, you can find out by using the equity release calculator provided by Key Retirement Solutions.