House prices rose by +1% in January 2010 according to Hometrack’s latest national house price survey , with a year-on-year rate of -0.8%.

There was also a decline in both the number of new sales and buyer registrations, with the average time to sell increasing for the first time since January 2009 as it grew to 8.6 weeks, up from 8.3 weeks in December 2009.

Richard Donnell, Hometrack’s director of research, said, “Despite national trends pointing to lower numbers of sales agreed, the small monthly increase was as a result of prices rising in just 7% of postcodes - these largely confined to southern England. It is worth noting that the average price of property in rising markets is 35% higher than that of the national average (£212,000 compared to £157,000). This highlights how pockets of the market, where scarcity of supply and equity fuelled demand, are creating upward pressure on prices.”

However, the volume of available housing for sale continued to decline, which had been a key factor in the price rises, albeit in just these three regions Greater London, the South East and the South West.

Donnell said: “While the latest house price survey shows weaker demand (-2.7% down from 2.2% in December), new buyer registrations and an increase in the supply of homes for sale are likely to post a seasonal upturn next month. The scale of this increase compared to previous years will be an important indicator of what sort of market conditions we can expect in the run up to the election. The market built up something of a head of steam over 2009 in some but not all areas, boosting sentiment. Weaker demand and the fact we are starting from a higher base than a year ago means the outlook for 2010 remains far from certain.”