Hertfordshire house prices are increasing way beyond the national average rate according to the latest UK House Price Index.

The average price of a property in England was £234,250 in September 2016, while the average price change was 8.3 per cent year-on-year.

In Stevenage the figure rose by almost double this amount - 15.8 per cent - from an average of £233,498 to £270,300.

Welwyn Hatfield wasn’t far behind, with a 14.6 per cent increase – the average home there sold for £333,539 in September 2015, compared to £382,137 a year later.

The St Albans local authority area recorded a 13.1 per cent rise, up from £463,759 to £524,709.

The biggest increases in England were in London – a 20.3 per cent rise in Newham and 19.3 per cent in Barking and Dagenham, while prices fell in Hammersmith and Fulham by -2.9 per cent and in Camden by -2.4 per cent.

The biggest drop elsewhere in England was in Middlesborough, at -3.3 per cent.

Not surprisingly, London was the region with the highest average house price - £488,000.

UK-wide, the average house price was £217,888, up by 7.7 per cent on the previous year.