ANNUAL house price growth accelerated to 8.4 per cent in England and Wales in August - the highest rate of increase for nearly seven years, figures show.

However the slowest rate of increase was 3 per cent in the North-East.

Over the last year, prices had risen by 21.6 per cent in London.

The Land Registry said prices across the UK were up by 1 per cent compared with July.

The figures do not reflect some commentators' views of a housing market starting to cool.

But some areas, including Windsor and Maidenhead and South Yorkshire, have seen month-on-month falls.

The Land Registry said the average house price in England and Wales was now £177,824 compared with the peak of £181,383 in November 2007.