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UK market ‘weakening'?
New data from the Land Registry reveals a disparity in house price figures...
According to the registry, Annual house price growth in England and Wales continued to fall although prices remained unchanged in February. House prices in England and Wales in February remained the same as the previous month, with the average property costing £185,616. But that cut the rate of annual price change to 5.3%, the sixth fall in a row, confirming a weakening market. London showed its first monthly dip for some time with prices down 0.4%.
The annual rate of increase in house prices continued to slow, falling from 6.4% in January and 6.7% in December. Back in August last year, the annual rate of increase was much higher at 9.4%, the Land Registry said. The typical detached home in England and Wales cost £278,224 in February, some 4.4% more than the same month in 2007.
London prices falling?
The average price for a flat or maisonette in February (£174,563) was higher than that of a semi-detached house (£174,406). Figures also reveal that the high-end market slowed in 2007 with 381 properties in England and Wales sold for more than £1m in December 2007 compared with 542 in December 2006, a 30% fall.
A spokesperson for the Land Registry commented: “London's house price boom in recent years was more pronounced than in much of the country, and the annual rate of increase is still the highest at 10.6%. But in February prices fell, compared to January, by 0.4%.
“The West Midlands showed the biggest month-on-month rise (up 1.3%), but prices fell the most in Wales (down 1.1%). Over the last year at a more local level, the highest annual price change was in Reading (up 12.7%) and the biggest fall was in the city of Nottingham (down 2.3%)”.
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