Average home costs £319,000

The old price index was just based on three-bedroom homes

People in Jersey are paying on average £9,000 more for homes than last year.

This is according to the latest property figures from the island's revamped house price index.

The average homes costs £319,000, according to the States Statistics Unit.

The latest figures show the price of homes has gone up by 3% in the last 12 months and by 5% so far in 2003.

There is no evidence to suggest that the old index provided a misleading reflection States Statistics Unit

What that means is that prices jumped by about £15,000 in the three-month period to the end of June.

The figures also show an 80% increase in the total number of properties used to make the index, compared to earlier in the year.

The earlier indexes were just based on three-bedroom properties.

The statistics unit said it was a fair indicator of price changes as such properties accounted for nearly half of all transactions in the residential property market.

However, now the range of properties used has been expanded.

The statistics unit said: "On the basis of the limited comparison currently available, there is no evidence to suggest that the old index provided a misleading reflection of changes in dwelling prices.

"However, the old index did understate the average level of three-bedroom house prices and of dwellings overall."

The States Statistics Unit publishes the house price index based on each quarter of the year.