North East spurs on rising house prices

The North East is at the heart of the house price drive in England and Wales, with house prices across the country up 1.5 per cent in a month, a report has revealed.
The Land Registry Index has released a report stating that the price of houses in the North East of England has risen 2.7 per cent between August and September. These figures add to an annual rise of 1.3 per cent in the region.
House prices across the country have seen an increase of £5,552 over the last 12 months, making the average home sell for £167,063 in England and Wales.
Experts are attributing the rising house prices to falling mortgage rates and an increase in home loan availability, thisismoney.co.uk reports. This is largely due to the government's Help to Buy scheme, which essentially makes buying a house more attainable for those who could previously only afford to rent.
Jeremy Duncombe, Legal & General Mortgage Club director told mortgagesolutions.co.uk that although the improvements to the housing market are significant, it is important to remember where they were before the Help to Buy scheme. A year ago the housing market wasn't moving anywhere, so the prompting from the government to buy houses shouldn't be wished away too quickly.
Mr Duncombe said: "It is also worth remembering that Help to Buy is a temporary measure. If the government needs to change its terms or withdraw it altogether to avoid the market overheating it can do so."