Land Registry House Prices

Land Registry confirm house prices continue to fall

In the latest survey conducted by the Land Registry they have confirmed that the price of houses in England and Wales has continued to fall and says that compared to 12 months ago the average price of a house is now 2.3 per cent lower at £160,996 following a 1.1 per cent fall in March.

According to the data collected by the Land Registry there has only been the month of January that has shown an increase in house prices and every other month since August last year have shown a consistent fall.

The new survey data has been revealed just as the Bank of England have suggested that the coming months may see house sales increase due to figures that they have studied regarding the approval of mortgages applications.

In contrast too are earlier comments made by the Nationwide who said that the last six months have seen house prices remain “fairly static”.

On average Wales has seen house prices drop by 7 per cent while the North East of England have witnessed a fall even higher at 9 per cent. London has been the only place where house prices have increased during the past year with a marginal rise of only 0.8 per cent.

propertytalk Live! - UK house prices edge downwards - Land Registry

March data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price decrease of 2.3% which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £160,996.

The monthly change from February to March is a decrease of 1.1%.

One region in England and Wales experienced an increase in its average property value over the last 12 months.

This was London with an annual price change increase of 0.8%.

The only region which experienced a monthly rise was the North West with a movement of 0.7%.

The North East experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of -9.3%.

Wales is the region with the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -3.3%.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during January 2011, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales rose by 2% to 36,425 from 35,809 in January 2010.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for more than £1million increased by 6% between January 2010 and January 2011, from 460 to 486.

Eric Stoclet, CEO of Crown Mortgage Management said: "March's dramatic drop in property values was fuelled primarily by tight mortgage lending. Lenders are unwilling to bow to the pressure to open the floodgates before they have enough information to feel confident about the state of the economy. Although the UK staved off recession in the first quarter of the year, the biggest hurdles to financial stability lie ahead. The economic picture of austerity Britain is yet to properly materialise and lenders are aware that ultimately it could become a very gloomy scene indeed. Higher taxes and either high inflation or interest rate rises (or possibly both for some transition period), compounded by an inevitable rise in unemployment will put pressure on borrowers - especially those on tracker rates - and it's hard to blame lenders for their nervousness in the circumstances. Without increased liquidity and some degree of certainty as relates to the economy, the property market will remain at best subdued in the coming months.

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