The average price of a home in England and Wales has broken through the £150,000 barrier following three years of soaring prices, according to a property group.

The Land Registry is expected to say the average cost of a home is now £154,000 when it reports figures for the last three months of 2002 early next week.

If the figure is correct, house prices will have increased by 5.4 per cent from £146,150 during the third quarter of 2002, to be 29.6 per cent higher than they were during the last three months of 2001.

The prediction comes from property web site Rightmove, which publishes a monthly house price index based on the asking price of property when it is first put on the market.

Ed Williams, managing director of Rightmove, said: "Rightmove has constantly been the best index in terms of tracking Land Registry house prices."

But he predicted the market was set to slowdown going forward.

He said: "Due to asking price increases slowing in the last two months, Land Registry house prices are likely to level off in the next three months.

"We therefore predict that Land Registry house prices for the first quarter of 2003 will remain at £154,000."

It is only 12 months since Britain's biggest mortgage lender Halifax reported the average cost of a home had broken through the £100,000 barrier, although its index includes Scotland and Northern Ireland where property tends to be cheaper.