House price growth down again

Last Modified: 01 Apr 2008
Source: PA News

Annual house price growth fell for the sixth month in a row during February to its lowest level since 2006, figures showed.

The average cost of a home in England and Wales rose by just 5.3% during the 12 months to the end of February, the slowest rate of gain since July 2006, according to the Land Registry.

At the same time monthly house price growth stalled, with the average value of a property remaining unchanged at £185,616.

The overall figure masked more gloomy regional variations, with house prices falling in seven out of 10 regions during the month.

Wales saw the biggest price falls, with the average cost of a home dropping by 1.1% during the month to average £140,031. The market was also weak in the South East and London, where prices fell by 0.7% and 0.4% respectively.

The North East and North West saw price falls of 0.3%, while the average cost of a home in the East and South West fell by 0.2%.

The West Midlands saw the strongest price growth during February, with house prices in the region rising by 1.3%. Yorkshire and the Humber and the East Midlands were the only other regions to see price gains, with rises of 0.5% and 0.1% respectively.

On an annual basis, London continued to be the only region with double- digit growth, although the rate fell from 13.1% to 10.6%. Across other regions the South East had the next strongest rate of annual house price inflation of 6%, while growth was slowest in the North East, where the average cost of a home inched ahead by just 1.9% during the year.

The number of homes changing hands continued to fall, with an average of 90,880 properties sold each month between September and December, 13% less than during the same period of 2007 as the market continued to slow.

At the same time there was a 30% drop in the number of homes sold for more than £1 million in December compared with a year earlier, with only 381 homes changing hands for sums of at least seven figures.

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