The price of the average UK house has broken the £260,000 barrier for the first time.
House prices rose by 12.6% year-on-year in February, according to Nationwide – the strongest pace of growth since last June. Over the month, prices rose by 1.7%, the seventh consecutive monthly increase.
The average price of a house is now a fifth higher, or £44,138, than in February 2020, just before the coronavirus lockdowns started.