An increase in first-time buyers has seen UK house prices rise by £2,048 in the first week of January.

An increase in first-time buyers has seen UK house prices rise by £2,048 in the first week of January.

Website Propertyfinder reports that the proportion of buyers searching for their first property has risen to 37 per cent in December 2005, up from 25 per cent in September.

House prices in London and the south-east were up 1.3 per cent from last month. But properties in the south-west East Anglia and Yorkshire and Humberside, the West Midlands and the north-west lost value.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of property website Rightmove, said buyers should be wary of getting on the property ladder.

"Whilst it's still a buyers' market, prospective purchasers now need to think about how long it will remain in their favour if these increases continue," he said.

He added that without growth in London and the south-east, "the national figure would have been in negative territory".