Average house prices in England and Wales ended the year at £162,080 – 1.79% higher than 12 months earlier.
According to the Land Registry, house prices in December rose by 0.8% on the previous month.
The figures were driven by a 3.1% monthly rise in London, and an 8.4% annual rise. The average house price in the capital ended the year at £371,223, with the most expensive area being Kensington and Chelsea, where house prices rose by 13.4% over last year to stand at an average of just over £1m – £1,080,479.
By comparison, houses in the North-West fell 0.9% in the last month of last year, and by 3.5% over the year as a whole. House prices in the region stand at £108,257. The region with the lowest house prices is the North-East, at £99,974, while the area with the greatest annual fall (9.5%) was north-east Lincolnshire
Of more concern was that transactions were sharply down, according to the Land Registry’s latest data, relating to July to October. There was a monthly average of 57,661 house sales, down from 62,073 for the same period in 2011.
Volumes of sales for properties over £2m, on which higher Stamp Duty was imposed in last year’s Budget, were up 22% in the month of October, compared with October 2011, to total 151, of which 121 were in London. Sales in all price brackets below £200,000 nationwide were down, and sales in London below £250,000 were also down.
The Land Registry also published repossession data showing that an average of 1,523 homes were repossessed per month between July and October – down on the 1,864 monthly average for the same period in 2011. The areas with the highest repossession numbers were the North-West, Yorkshire & the Humber and the South-East.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, said that the fall in repossessions was welcome, but added: “Nearly four years with a record low bank rate has been crucial. Many borrowers who have been financially hard pressed since the recession have been given more breathing room by lower interest payments.
“Nevertheless, after so long with rock-bottom rates, borrowers and new buyers must remember that rates will eventually rise – and not be taken by surprise when they do so, or we will see mortgage arrears cases and repossessions climb rapidly when the MPC does take a different course of action.”
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Comments
Of course you do, we believe you......................! Keep paying the rent mate!
I was the guy who posted before, I do own my property and I live in it.
Despite that I can see that average house prices are overvalued when compared to average earnings. I have no interest in HPI because i did not buy my property to make easy money i bought it to live in.
So If the 600K+ can afford to keep up the payments when interest rate s rise then they have made the right decision for themesleves and everybody else.
If they can't whoever gave them a mortgage should be responsible for that debt not the contributors to society i.e taxpayers.
What do you mean people with pride? Did you know pride was considered the most deadlly sin. Where will pride get you in life?
There is no stigma to renting if things carry on the way they are there will be more people renting than owning.
do you really think when people with pride can buy again they won’t and want to get out of the rent trap and stigma? No of course you dont.
Less transactions, but the vote is clear, you idiots a few, the ones right 600K+ and these are smart enough to have found 20% to buy, which you cant. These folk have done something and not just yapped on a web site,
Spout away to cover your failings, but you know this is right
I believe the CML takes into account remortgages hence the gap.
Its no surprise trasaction levels are low this is caused by
Demand side
1. Unaffordale stock (non motivated vendors)
2. Stricter lending rules
3. Low wage growth
4. High core item inflation
Supply side
1. Lender forbearance
2 Low interest rates.
3. Vendors that believe everywehere is like London
I guess all EA's hope for a return to the loony lending days. I still know people willing to go crazy multiples to buy a house thank goodness the banks cant lend like that anymore
Oh, and BTW, the average inflation rate in the UK for 2012 was 2.61%.
Which means that the REAL VALUE of the average property fell by about 0.83% or £1,345.
YAY!
Well, that's a total of 646,496 for the year.
Massively short of the CML figures of 930,000 (from EAT 23/01/13).
From the Land Registry website this morning:
Year Transactions
1995 791,899.00
1996 960,844.00
1997 1,087,691.00
1998 1,043,460.00
1999 1,176,988.00
2000 1,086,322.00
2001 1,193,170.00
2002 1,295,538.00
2003 1,185,322.00
2004 1,183,373.00
2005 1,026,402.00
2006 1,278,478.00
2007 1,225,363.00
2008 621,042.00
2009 616,117.00
2010 656,116.00
2011 653,788.00
2012 646,496.00
Which means that 2012 was the 3rd worst year on record, marginally worse than 2010 and 2011.
Also means that we are still only selling about 65% of the average and about 50% of those peak days back in 2006.
I have said for years that regardless of the rubbish and conflicting data produced by the professional bodies and others the only data worth looking at it that released by the Land Registry. Until those supposedly in the know stop deceiving the public the housing market issues will never be resolved. It is like being a drunkard - until you admit there is a problem there can never be a cure.
"fall in repossessions was welcome", so Mr Brown, LSL happy less Repos to sell, less survey to do and sell less Conveyancing, I think not! Try and be honest!