House prices in a number of regions will fall in 2008 but will recover by 2012, it has been suggested.

According to Your Mortgage magazine, only the north of England and London are expected to see house price increases this year, with the cost of buying a property in inner London set to rise by 4.6 per cent.

However, most regions are set to boom between 2009 and 2012, the magazine claimed.

Pauline McCallion, editor of Your Mortgage, said: "The majority of English homeowners should take comfort in the fact that any decrease is likely to be a distant memory by 2012."

One of the areas most hotly tipped to see a property price boom is Hackney, in east London, with the magazine estimating that house prices in the area will rise by 30.5 per cent between now and 2012.

The borough is set to play a major part in the 2012 Olympic Games, hosting several events and planning a massive redevelopment to improve facilities, green spaces and transport links with the rest of the capital.