September saw house prices jump 0.9% as FTB demand strengthened
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House prices rose by 0.9% in September, while demand from first-time buyers picked up.
Latest figures from the Land Registry show the average house price in England and Wales was £158,377 in September - 5.6% lower than in the same month last year.
London saw the biggest monthly price rise at 1.3%. The average price in the capital was £314,954.
Meanwhile, figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors show first-time buyer demand is on the up. Its members report that 13% of new enquiries were derived from first-time buyers in August.
And 28% of RICS members also say the number of first-time buyer enquiries increased in the previous three months.
The North-West saw the highest proportion of first-time buyers in August at 23%, while the lowest proportion was in East Anglia with just 6%. 
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS, says: “House price falls and lower interest rates have gone some way towards tempting first-time buyers back. But purchasers still need big deposits to get into the market and lenders are remaining cautious.
“This is making it hard to translate increased interest into hard transactions.”
Meanwhile, figures from the Bank of England last week showed net lending secured on dwellings jumped by £0.9bn in September.
This figure is weaker than the August rise of £1.3bn, but up compared with the previous six-month average of £0.6bn.
Secured lending by banks rose by £3.5bn - above both the £2.9bn in-crease in August and the six-month average of £2.6bn.
The number of loan approvals for house purchase was 56,215 - higher than the August figure of 52,970 and above the previous six-month average. But at 25,528, approvals for remortgaging were below the previous six-month average.
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