According to the land registery of England and Wales, Registers of Scotland Executive and University of Ulster in partnership with Bank of Ireland the average house price in the UK  at the end of 2007 was £230,474.

Monmouthshire saw the greatest growth in property prices on average, with almost 19% recorded for the year. However this doesn't tell the whole story, house prices in the UK fell for the fourth month in a row in November, says the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics).

Its latest survey shows that price falls became more widespread, with 58% of its members reporting a drop in prices over the previous three months.

Just 2% of members said that prices were still rising.

Prices fell in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, and rose only in Scotland, said Rics.

The Rics report backs up the evidence of other surveys which have all shown a recent downturn in the market.

"It is clear that the housing market continues to feel the strain of depressed market conditions," said a Rics spokesman, Jeremy Leaf.

"The recent credit crunch continues to hit confidence in the market. However, while underlying economic fundamentals remain sound and the labour market remains strong, large falls in prices remain unlikely," he added.

Slowdown

House price inflation and new mortgage approvals have slowed considerably under the impact of past increases in interest rates, combined with the impact of the Northern Rock crisis.

Average Cost: £230,474

Detached: £353,096

Semi-detached: £206,054

Terraced: £183,410

Flat: £206,048

Change in last quarter: +6.56%

Change in last year:     +9.00%

Number of Sales: 306,743

Top 10 locations for 2007 growth summary