Britain has come top of a long-term house price inflation table for leading industrialised nations.

Swiss institution the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) assessed property price growth in 18 countries since 1970 for its House Price Survey.

It found that the UK has the highest average annual rate of price inflation at 4.14 per cent. The second highest figure was in Spain (3.95 per cent), while Ireland came third (3.9 per cent) and Belgium fourth (3.58 per cent).

Those figures confirm anecdotal evidence that UK homes are among the world's strongest long-term asset investments, prompting property experts to advise people against overreacting to the current slowdown.

They also give weight to the theory that first-time buyers have greater difficulty in the UK than in any other developed nation.

Halifax today issued its latest House Price Index, finding that UK house price inflation was flat in January - believed to be a consequence of wider difficulties in global financial markets.

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Author:  Joanne McCabe

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