A good place to check out current house prices is on the BBC News Website - it you're not familiar with it, here is a link:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/your_money/default.stmThe information is taken directly from the Land Registry and is based on actual property sales. The house price search is on the right hand side of the page. Just enter your postcode or area and you'll find all the up to date information.
One particular feature that I find very useful is that when you get to the relevant area, you can search different types of property individually. For instance, you can see what is happening for detached houses, terraced, semi-detached or flats.
During my research, I've noticed (at least in a couple of areas) a vast increase in the price of detached houses (in my area, 18% in one quarter). Before the credit crunch, it would be flats that increased at a much faster rate. This is presumably because of the problems first time buyers are having getting mortgages these days.
My conclusion would therefore be that everyone must look very closely at the figures before selling or purchasing properties at the moment. The average price increases spoken about in the press will not be of any use as an indicator of whether to sell or purchase, so plenty of research is needed to make a decision, particularly in view of the up-front selling costs that are now thrust upon us.
Hope this helps
