HOUSE prices are still soaring across the North-East despite signs of a slow-down, according to the Government.

Figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister (ODPM) showed price gains eased slightly to 22.7 per cent from 26.2 per cent for the year to the end of March.

The data suggests the housing boom that swept the country during the past two to three years would continue for some time in more northerly regions, despite a slowdown in the south.

Overall, house prices rose by 4.5 per cent during April as growth was driven by properties at the bottom end of the market.

The rise, nearly double the 2.4 per cent recorded during the same month last year, pushed the average price of a house in the UK to £168,600.

But the figures, which are not seasonally adjusted, follow a month in which the ODPM recorded price growth of only 0.2 per cent, well down on the 1.4 per cent recorded by lender Nationwide, and 2.2 per cent jump seen by rival Halifax. The figures showed house price inflation for the year to the end of April running at ten per cent, up from 7.8 per cent the previous month.

The ODPM said that during April, the average cost of a flat in the UK rose by 7.2 per cent, while the value of a terraced house increased by 5.2 per cent.

At the same time, the price of a detached house was only 3.1 per cent higher than it had been in March.

The 12-month rate of price growth increased in other northern regions to 21.2 per cent in the North-West, and 20.1 per cent in Yorkshire and the Humber, while the market also remained strong in Wales, at 23.1 per cent, and Scotland, at 20.7 per cent.

In the South, price growth showed signs of picking up again, with annual house price inflation in London rising to 7.9 per cent from 4.9 per cent, while in the East, it rose to 4.5 per cent from only 0.5 per cent during the previous 12 months.

London remains the most expensive place to buy a property with prices averaging £255,131.