My monthly property price summary looks at what all the main property price indices are reporting during the month. The indices range from Rightmove which only records asking prices through to Land Registry which is sold property prices but only tells us what has happened in the past.
Download the full report for May 2015
Kate's comments on the property price report headlines
“It’s interesting reading the headlines at the moment, as in the last month, I’ve been in the process of selling a flat. As it was priced fairly, we had a good offer on the first day, although I didn’t accept it until we’d had more viewings. The idea for me that the market has slowed due to the General Election, I think is a bit of a broad brush. It might if you want to sell multimillion pound homes, but certainly the first time buyer and investor markets are, in my experience and looking at the stats, still quite buoyant.”
Actual Report Headlines
Rightmove “All-time price high poses election challenge”
Home.co.uk “East England leads spring price growth”
NAEA “General election uncertainty puts the brakes on the housing market”
RICS “Price momentum picks up despite flat demand”
Nationwide “Annual house price growth edges up in April”
Halifax “House prices in the three months to April were 2.2% higher than in the preceding three months”
Agency Express “UK housing market stalls pre-election”
Acadata “House price growth slowest since 2013”
Land Registry “The March data shows a monthly price decrease of 0.8 per cent”
Average house prices vary from Leeds to Land's End so it's important for us to look at how the house price market is looking around the nation.
Kate's comments on regional price differences
“So far, the market seems to have performed better year on year than the forecasters suggested, however, as we look at a regional level, the performance is incredibly mixed. London really does seem to have had the ‘heat’ taken out of the market from a housing statistics perspective, while other areas such as Reading have benefited from a slightly later upsurge in the market. It will be interesting to see if property prices recover rapidly in the first two years post a recession, as London Boroughs have, or whether this will only work for strong economies and the rest of the UK might see some increases, but not ones to match London and the South.”
Here's what the indices are saying about regional variations
Home.co.uk “Home prices have risen in all English regions and Wales over the last month reflecting increasing demand across the UK. Scottish prices nudged down slightly but remain 4.1% higher than last year. East England, the South East, West Midlands and the South West all showed higher monthly price rises than Greater London this month. Further north, prices are nudging up as spring increases the market momentum. (Apr 15)”
RICS “Near term price expectations firmed for the second month running with a net balance of 16% of respondents foreseeing price rises in the coming three months. Only in London and Wales are near term expectations very slightly negative while at the twelve month horizon, respondents appear confident that prices will be higher across all areas of the UK. (Mar 15)”
Acadata “For the second month running, although all regions remain in positive territory in terms of house price rises on an annual basis, the average annual rate of change for each region has fallen in February compared to the previous month, except in Yorkshire and Humberside. The South West saw the largest drop in the annual rate of house price growth, down 1.1% compared to the previous month, closely followed by Greater London and the South East, both down by 0.9%. House prices are therefore falling at their fastest rate in the southern most areas of England, but this pattern of change, of a slowing in the rate of house price growth, is now spreading out across the remainder of England and Wales. (Mar 15)"
Land Registry “The region with the most significant annual price increase is London with a movement of 11.3 per cent. North East saw the only annual price fall with a movement of 2.9 per cent. South East experienced the greatest monthly price rise with a movement of 0.8 per cent. North East also saw the largest monthly decrease with a fall of 4.0 per cent. (Mar 15)”
Download the full report for May 2015
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