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Market 'less weak' than thought over summer

29 September 2010
Written by rosalind renshaw

House prices in August edged up just 0.3%, according to the Land Registry, suggesting the market may be stronger than otherwise reported.

The average house price now stands at £167,423.

The Land Registry also reported on its latest transaction level figures, covering the three months from March to June. It said that sales in England and Wales averaged 53,089 per month, up from 43,825 per month for the same period in 2009.

House price rises across the country were not uniform. While the Land Registry recorded rises in five regions – Wales, the south-east, London and Midlands – it recorded falls in another five – the south-west, north-east, north-west, east and in Yorkshire and the Humber.

Industry veteran Nicholas Leeming, commercial director of Zoopla, said: “The Land Registry index is more comprehensive because it tracks all home sales, not just a small sample of those who need mortgage finance.

“The slight increase in prices is therefore a sign that the market is less weak than some are suggesting. But there is no room for complacency. 

“Mortgage volumes are down as lenders conserve cash to meet wider regulatory requirements. Confidence in the economic recovery is shaky as spending cuts loom. Buyers are being cautious at a time when the supply of homes for sale has been rising, and so we expect relatively subdued trading to continue.”

Peter Rollings, managing director of London estate agent Marsh & Parsons, said: “The misapprehension that house prices are falling has led to some home owners hesitating about putting their properties on the market in the past couple of weeks, but the official price figures from the Land Registry – based upon actual sales and not asking prices – shows that these concerns are unfounded, particularly in London.

“Whereas the severe shortage of mortgage funding on offer is stifling demand from buyers in certain parts of the country, interest from buyers in the capital has remained consistently high.

“The large proportion of cash buyers – unaffected by issues in the mortgage market – and overseas buyers has helped London to withstand the problems witnessed in other markets across the UK.

“The market traditionally sees a pick-up in autumn, and assuming that the supply of property does not dry up completely, this should help drive activity levels further throughout the remainder of the year.”

Comments

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    Why volumes, Richard?

    I think there are an awful number of vendors and purchasers out there that would argue with you on your first statement...

    • 01 October 2010 15:27 PM
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    Prices up or down a few %, who cares?? Only thing that matters are volumes.

    • 01 October 2010 13:06 PM
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    I wouldn't listen to you lot if you told me tomorrow was Saturday.

    What does the board man think? Or the software guy?

    Let's have the low-down from the REAL 'Voices of the Industry'...

    • 01 October 2010 11:56 AM
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    I know that dog, it's blind and keeps popping up every minute runnings across the road causing cars to crash for insurance claims, "it was the dogs fault"!

    • 01 October 2010 10:38 AM
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    Well, I was talking to this bloke in a pub and his mate knows a fella who brought a dog from a bloke in Cornwall who once spoke to an agent and he reckons its alright down there.

    It got me thinking - its weird how we have all this evidence about the market to discuss like proffessionals on forums like this isnt it?

    Jonnie

    • 30 September 2010 21:19 PM
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    stonehenge: I would hazard a guess that Agents simply aren't changing their board status. Maybe they forget that a 'Sold' slip is their best possible advert for getting more instructions? Saving a fiver on board costs may be hitting them hard in the pockets...

    • 30 September 2010 15:27 PM
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    Just been talking to a North Leics based Estate Agent who knows another Cornwall based agent. The former has just done a sold board count and notes the STC boards represents only 5% of those on the market, and fewer than 2 sales overall per office in the whole region. Office closures beckons he reckons.

    On the other hand Truro agent in Cornwall is selling lots of property.

    Why the difference?

    • 30 September 2010 14:51 PM
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    Lovely, lovely – another set of figures for us to chew on and probably as close to correct as you’re going to get, now I know the ‘in rented waiting for the crash’ lot wont like it and those vendors that really need a price reduction will be harder to convince but the LR figures aren’t based on asking prices like last weeks Rightmove index etc and unlike the lenders they are based on every sale not just one lenders customers……………….so there we have it, figures that are as close to giving us a picture as any other, the best of a bad bunch yes but based on fact and 100% of sales

    Jonnie

    • 29 September 2010 15:34 PM
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    I think that the Natinwide, Halifax, RICS, Land Registry and all the so called "pundits" who give out this meaningless averaged out trash should all go away and let the market settle down. We can do without the uncertainty they cause. At least this announcement is positive.

    • 29 September 2010 15:11 PM
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    You should be in Norfolk, the market is flying, prices are shooting through the roof. You know you can trust me, I am an Estate Agent!

    • 29 September 2010 13:10 PM
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    Basically the market was F****d, is still f****d and will remain F****d. We can tell this by the 30 odd comments about a Gay headline and the fact that I am writing this pointless e-mail, rather than ringing a vendor who says they want to put their asking price up as its existing price is too close to the competition and that they have had a flier through their door from another agent saying properties like theirs are selling like hotcakes and they are the greatest agents the world has ever seen with long lists of 'exclusive' buyers

    • 29 September 2010 12:57 PM
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    House sales REGISTERED in August obviously were sale agreed 2/3 months ago.
    In my view Land Registry figures are still the only real figures to rely on - all the rest are very doubtful and should be ignored.

    • 29 September 2010 12:49 PM
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    "Average House price £167,423"

    Average earnings at £23,500

    'Nuff said

    • 29 September 2010 11:00 AM
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    Yet another misleading statistic. How can the Land Registry know what house prices did in August when they do not receive data on sales until 3 to 4 months after a sale has been agreed. Does anybody reading this contact the Registry as soon as a sale has been agreed?

    • 29 September 2010 10:14 AM
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