May 07

UK house prices slow slightly in March

The March data from Land Registry’s House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 5.6 per cent which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £169,124.

The monthly change from February to March shows a decrease of 0.4 per cent. Repossession volumes decreased by 31 per cent in January 2014 to 979 compared with 1,420 in January 2013.

The region in England and Wales which experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 12.4 per cent.

Both East and North East regions experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 1.1 per cent.

Wales experienced the only annual price fall of 1.6 per cent.

Wales also saw the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -4.2 per cent.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during January 2014 the number of completed house sales in England & Wales increased by 46 per cent to 63,123 compared with 43,373 in January 2013.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in January 2014 increased by 61 per cent to 1,011 from 628 in January 2013.

The region with the greatest fall in repossession sales in January 2014 was the North East.

David Newnes, director of Your Move and Reeds Rains commented: “After successive months of strong growth, house price rises have slowed slightly in March – but this isn’t a setback. The property market recovery is still progressing steadily towards full health, with average house prices up 5.6% year-on-year. And importantly the tendrils of the housing recovery continues to unfurl across the country. It is particularly encouraging to see the North East experience one of the biggest monthly rises in property values.

“Sales are up as consumer confidence remains buoyant across the nation, riding on a wave of low inflation and higher wage growth. More home movers and first time buyers are entering the property market, and as activity trickles up the chain this helps release some of the pressure on the limited supply of new homes coming onto the market. However the government still has a vital role to play in encouraging greater house building, to ensure that a shortfall of supply does not impede growth and recovery. Now that the Mortgage Market Review (MMR) is in place, we can expect price rises to moderate, as the borrowing process is governed by more stringent lending criteria”.