This report is to help give everyone – industry and consumers – a quick five minute guide to what’s happening in the property market, according to the property indices, along with property expert Kate Faulkner’s comments.
To download Kate Faulkner's full report, click here
Property price and market indices summary
Rightmove
Best ever spring sellers’ market as prices hit another new record
“Another new price record as the average price of property coming to market jumps by 1.7% this month to £354,564, breaking through the £350,000 barrier for the first time. The average monthly rise is the largest seen at this time of year since March 2004, pushing the annual rate of increase to 10.4%.”
Home.co.uk
Prices leap as market accelerates to warp speed
"Asking prices across England and Wales leapt 1.1% in February.”
RICS
Agreed sales rise over the month with expectations modestly positive regarding the near-term outlook
“Market momentum strengthened slightly over the month, with agreed sales rising on the back of a sustained positive trend in new buyer enquiries.”
Nationwide
UK house price growth surges to its highest level since 2004
“Annual house price growth increased to 14.3%, from 12.6% in February.”
Halifax
UK house prices rise steeply to reach new record high, as market maintains momentum
“Average UK house prices rose again in March for the ninth month in a row. The increase of 1.4% was the biggest jump since last September.”
e.surv
Annual price growth increases to 8.4% in England and Wales
“Prices are now 8.4%, above March 2021 levels, and show a 2.9% increase over February 2022’s revised annual rate of 5.5% for homes bought with cash or a mortgage. The average house price in England and Wales has continued to increase throughout Q1 2022 on an almost straight-line basis.”
Zoopla
Average value of a UK home up +8.1%
“UK house prices rose by +8.1% in the year to February, down from +8.4% in January, but up from +4.2% in February last year.”
National property price tracking
With many owning their home outright, paying cash or getting a great mortgage deal, these factors are contributing to market rises, despite the current cost of living crisis.
Property prices by country
For Kate’s commentary on country property prices, download the full report here
Regional property prices tracking
From a regional perspective, there top performers are the East Midlands (+11.6%) according to the Land Registry; the South West (+14.5%) according to Rightmove; the South West and East (+10.8%) for Home.co.uk; With the Halifax and Nationwide matching Rightmove’s increases in the South West (14.6% and 14.4%+ respectively).
Commentary on towns and cities
From a town and city perspective, the lowest performer year on year according to the Land Registry is: Aberdeen with just a 0.4% increase year on year, followed by Manchester at 2.9%.
Hometrack agrees that Aberdeen is one of the lowest performing property markets, but record a fall of 2% in property prices, with London being the next lowest performer, although still recording a rise of 3.2%. And when it comes to Manchester, they have a completely different view to the Land Registry with a 9.2% rise year on year (Land Registry: 2.9%).
However, they both agree that Liverpool with its inflation busting 11.1% (Land Registry) and 10.3% (Hometrack) is one of the top performers.
The Land Registry also suggests that Peterborough is the top performer this month rising at 13.2%, then Southampton at 12.6% YoY, followed by Leicester and Milton Keynes at 11.7% growth year on year.
The above statistics show that quoting national averages can be extremely misleading to buyers and sellers - especially if they are rising at double digits, when someone is living in Aberdeen and likely to be seeing prices falling.
Download the full version of Kate Faulkner's property price report here
For more articles on Kate Faulkner's April 2022 report, click on the following headings:
