House prices in England and Wales rose by 1.7% in July.

According to the Land Registry, house prices in England and Wales rose by 1.7% in July – the greatest monthly increase since June 2004.

July is the third consecutive month house prices have risen and all regions of England and Wales experienced an increase in average property value.

However, house prices were still 11.7% lower in July 2009 than in the same month last year. The price of an average house in July was £155,885.

Over the last twelve months, all regions suffered a decrease in average house value. Luton experienced the greatest annual price fall with a drop of 22.5%.

On a national and regional level, Wales experienced the greatest monthly rise with a 3.1% increase in July and an average house price of £123,122.

Yorkshire and The Humber are experiencing the least movement in the average house price with only a 0.9% increase.

The average price of terraced houses and flats rose the most in July, rising 12.9% and 12.7% respectively.

The recent figures also show that the number of completed house sales in May 2009 dropped by 34% to 42,699 in comparison to the 65,023 sales completed in the same month one year earlier.