IT seems years since the words housing and “good news” were used in the same sentence but at last there seems to be some genuine positive news. LSL Property Services and Acadametrics have released their latest House Price Index which shows property prices rose 0.2 per cent in December. And while that still means a drop in prices annually, it was only 0.5 per cent.

Richard Sexton, director of e.surv (part of LSL Property Services), calls the staying power of prices over the last year “astonishing” though warns that 2012 , is going to be another tough year.

He said: “Despite the growing fears of a debt crisis in the Eurozone, prices rose 0.7 per cent in the second half of 2011 and, with high inflation and reasonably static prices, this has helped make property more and more affordable. While transactions fell slightly in 2011 compared to 2010, the last five months of 2011 all saw higher activity than 2010, boosted by the increasing number of buyers eager to make the most of the affordable – if hard to obtain – mortgage finance coming onto the market.”

Unbelievably, Wales – for so long the poor performer in the housing market – joins London as the only other region to show annual house price growth. Continued ....

Housing cheer at last?