Property prices in England and Wales up 6.7% in May year on year
Average house price in England and Wales increased by 0.4% in May and were 6.7% higher than a year ago, according to the latest data from the Land Registry.
This takes the average price of home to 172,035, not far off the peak of £181,518 in November 2007 and the data also shows that over 72,450 residential properties in England and Wales were lodged for registration in May ranging from £7,000 to £39 million.
The region in England and Wales which experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months was London with an increase of 18.5%. London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with a rise of 2.5%.
The North East saw the lowest annual price growth with a rise of 0.9% while Yorkshire and the Humber saw the most significant monthly price fall of 0.9%.
The most up to date figures available show that during March 2014 the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 16% to 63,587 compared with 54,708 in March 2013.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in March 2014 increased by 28% to 840 from 657 in March 2013.
Repossession volumes decreased by 37% in March 2014 with 987 compared with 1,560 in March 2013. The region with the greatest fall in repossession sales in March 2014 was the East Midlands.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, pointed out that while optimism has spread outside of London, many regions are seeing only very gradual house price rises.
‘Stability is not the finish line for the housing market. Sustainable price growth must go hand in hand with a growing stock of homes, and growth is the order of the day. The property industry will still take some time to recover fully from the longest recession on record and construction will only pick up more swiftly after the purchase market has demonstrated its stability,’ he explained.
‘In the meantime the rental market is efficiently providing homes in centres of employment and rents are now only rising in line with wages. But in the purchase or the rental market, the legacy of the credit crunch will still linger if we don’t build more homes quickly,’ he added.
According to Peter Rollings, chief executive officer of Marsh & Parsons, the figures show that after one of the busiest starts to the year price growth is beginning to slow, as a fresh supply of property comes onto the market to counter the imbalance with demand.
He believes that the figures demonstrate the self regulatory nature of the market as it returns to normal. ‘Not only does this give buyers’ some breathing space from the fierce competition experienced earlier this year it is also good news for sellers who now have more choice for their onward purchase,’ he said.
‘London, where property is still in much higher demand, continues to be in a league of its own and unrepresentative…