Topsy-turvy House Prices Rise and Fall at the Same Time

Topsy-turvy House Prices Rise and Fall at the Same Time

15:53 PM, 26th August 2011, About 13 years ago

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"Surveys are producing conflicting results. Again"

The topsy-turvy housing market has produced another crop of confusing statistics this month.

The latest house price data from the Land Registry shows average house prices went up 1.3% from June to July but down 2.1% compared with home values in July 2010.

The average house price in England and Wales is now £163,049.

London is the only region to show an average increase in property prices over the year – up 1.3% since July 2010.

The North East continues to suffer – as the region with both the highest average annual price decrease of 8.8% and the highest monthly decrease of 2.3%.

The latest official data for completed house sales shows levels were 10% down from the figures in May 2010 – which fell from 52,170 to 46,870.

The number of homes worth £1 million or more also went down during the year, from 464 to 262, a drop of 44%.

Estate agents seem to take a different view of the figures – Peter Bolton King, chief executive of the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) believes that buyers are coming back to the market when the figures more likely show that people would buy a home if they could raise a mortgage.

“The NAEA’s latest figures show that buyers are coming back to the market – the average number of house-hunters registered per branch increased significantly in July, from 263 in June to 299. This is an unprecedented increase for what is traditionally a very quiet time,” he said.

“As mortgage conditions are more favourable now than at any time in the last three years, those in a position to buy are coming out of the woodwork and benefiting from prices that are, overall, still lower than a year ago.

“However, supply continues to be an issue and NAEA members are reporting a drop in the number of properties available. The truth is that, for most people – particularly first time buyers -while buying a property is becoming more affordable, there just aren’t enough available properties on the market.”


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