House prices still showing growth in North London

Surveyors have issued some gloomy reports in recent weeks, showing that house prices are currently falling; hardly news to many after surveys by Halifax, the Land Registry and Hometrack have all showed little or no growth after houses flooded the market following the abolition HIPS and a small rise in seller confidence, leading to a small increase in housing stock supply.

But the last desperate refrain of homeowners in London - that 'London is its own market' - seems to have held true in this case: particularly in parts of North London including Islington, where prices have not only remained steady, but have continued to increase according to the survey commissioned by the Royal Institude of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

Along with many other London boroughs, Islington prices have shown growth over the past year, and according to Where's My Property they are continuing to rise following a dip in May. Last month, the average price of a terraced house in the borough was recorded at £670,592, while a flat - usually the only option for first time buyers - is an eye-watering £363,959. This represents a +1.5% rise in the past three mohths, and and +12.7% in the past year.

The news will come as a relief to those already established on the property ladder in North London and a further blow to those trying to make their first step on to it.

If you're currently searching for property in the area and would like a real idea of what prices are doing, there are a few handy online tools that will tell you what price flats and houses in your area actually sold at. Check out Property Bee; a Firefox plugin that tracks revisions and price changes in estate agents' online ads, with some very revealing results, or the UK Land Registry site, which records actual sold house prices in a given area.

Are you an Islington homeowner feeling encouraged by this relatively modest growth, or are you struggling to get on the housing ladder and likely to be priced out of the area?