HOUSE prices are back on an upward trend, latest figures show.
But the survey by the Halifax bank said the housing market was still cooling and prices were likely to fall as a whole during 2005.
The bank said the average cost of a house rose 1.1% last month.
It means the average price of a property is now £162,086 - 15.1% more than a year ago.
But house prices rose just 0.1% during the final quarter of 2004, due to falling prices in October and November.
House prices in Yorkshire rose 1.2% during the quarter, to stand at an average of £120,724 - some 22.2% higher than a year ago.
The Halifax stuck by its forecast of a 2% fall in house prices during 2005.
It said that although prices rose 15.1% in 2004, they only increased by 2.8% in the second half of the year.
Halifax chief economist Martin Ellis said the market would remain healthy in 2005 and house prices should fall only slightly.
The survey also showed that the highest price rises during the final quarter of 2004 were in northern England.
All other areas saw a fall in prices.
The survey showed that the biggest quarterly declines were 6.2% in Wales and 1.6% in the South-East.
