U.K. house price growth picks up pace in February, but still below 2016 average

According to data from the Office for national Statistics (ONS), U.K. house price growth picked up pace in February. U.K. house prices rose by 5.8 percent in the year to February, up from 5.3 percent in January. Data fell short of economists' expectation for a 6.1 percent jump in house prices.

Average house price was £218,000, up £12,000 from the same month last year and £2,000 higher than in January. Despite the rise, house price growth was still below the average growth seen in 2016 of 7.3 percent, official figures showed today.

Prices in England saw the biggest increase, up 6.3 percent over the year to February, with the average price now standing at £234,000. In Wales, house prices were up 1.8 percent over the last 12 months to £145,000, while the average price in Scotland rose by 3.1 percent to £139,000. In Northern Ireland, house prices were up 5.7 percent to £125,000.

"Despite the firmer ONS house price data for February, we expect the housing market to be increasingly affected by the deepening squeeze on consumers and their concerns over the outlook," said Howard Archer, chief UK and European economist at IHS Markit