Homeowners have been denied any light in the tunnel when it comes to hoping for rising equity levels.  Experts have forecasted that it will be years before house prices began to rise to the point of helping declining property values.  Equity built into properties through appreciation of the property is depended on with homeowners seek to secure low remortgage financing.  For many that has been denied as they experienced a plunge in their equity levels.  However, there has been a bit of optimism put into the air from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

According to the ONS the average house prices across the UK are increasing.  The latest report which covered October showed that the average house price had increased by 0.2%.  In a year to year comparison that was an increase of 1.5%.  This meant the average house price for the UK, according to the ONS, was £231,000 at the start of the final quarter of 2012.  The house price surveys from both Halifax and Nationwide had shown a decline rather than an increase.

The report said, “House prices continue to remain relatively stable across most of the UK, although prices in London are increasing and prices in Northern Ireland are falling.

“The year-on-year increase reflected growth of 1.8% in England and 2.8% in Wales, which were offset by a decline of 2.2% in Scotland and 11.7% in Northern Ireland."

The increase is not expected to signal that there is a steady recovery on the horizon for house prices according to experts.  Yet, an increase in the average house price is a welcomed report, no matter how small.