Bank Lending Rate
It has been confirmed that the Bank of England Monetary Committee have decided that the Bank Base Rate is to remain at 0.5% for a further month. It has been at this level for almost two years, i.e. since 05th March, 2009.
Source: Bank of England
Mortgage Lending by the Major UK Lenders
According to initial data from the major UK lenders, (which comprises Banco Santander, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and Royal Bank of Scotland) the flow of mortgage lending by all UK-resident mortgage lenders rose slightly in January – up from £0.9 billion to £1.2 billion for net lending, and gross lending from £8.9 billion to £9.6 billion in the month.
Total mortgage approvals for house purchase have decreased again – down from £5.3 billion in December to £4.7 billion in January. Remortgaging, however, has seen an increase, from £3.0 billion in December to £4.1 billion in January.
Source: Bank of England
Land Registry Average Property Prices in England and Wales
The Average Price of a property in England and Wales is now £163,177 as at the end of January, 2011.
Source: Land Registry
Percentage Changes of Property Prices in England and Wales
The Monthly change in January in England and Wales was 0.2%.
The Annual change to January in England and Wales was –0.9%.
Source: Land Registry
RICS survey overview.
The RICS Housing Market Survey for January says that the housing market is still slow. Both supply and demand for property continue to fall. Every region of the UK has seen falling prices, with the East Midlands and Yorkshire / Humberside seeing the largest falls. London saw the smallest fall of all the UK regions, followed by Scotland, with Northern Ireland seeing the greatest improvement. Surveyors remain optimistic about sales picking up in 2011.
Source: Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors
New Mortgages granted
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that January’s estimated figures for lending for house purchase and remortgages was £9.2 billion, a decrease of 13% from December’s figure of £10.6 billion. However, this is 5% higher than the £8.8 billion of January 2010.
There were 28,932 house purchase loans approved during January 2011, and 28,907 remortgage loans were made, 28% more than a year ago.
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
Regional trends in Rightmove Estate Agents Asking House Prices in England and Wales.
The largest increase in February is in the Yorkshire and Humberside region, where the average asking price is up by 6.7% to £151,708, but this is still 3.6% lower than February 2010. This is the second consecutive month this region had seen the largest annual regional decrease.
Largest decrease in asking prices by Rightmove registered estate agents in February is the West Midlands, where the average asking price is down by 1.4% to £186,656, although this is still 1.4% higher than in February 2010.
Over the year to February 2011, the largest increase in house asking prices has been in the South East, which has seen asking house prices rise by 1.8% to £294,024.
Source: Rightmove
Halifax House Price Index figures.
The average price of a house by the end of January 2011 was £164,173. House prices in January were 0.8% higher than in December 2010. The quarterly figure showed a 0.7% drop. The figures show that house prices are 2.4% lower than this time last year, measured by the average for the latest quarter against the same period a year earlier.
Over the last decade, house prices have risen by an average of 91% in the UK, from £86,095 in the late 2000’s to £164,310 by the end of 2010. Ten years ago, houses in the South were 80% higher than those in the North. Now, that figure has dropped to 56% higher in the South, as house prices in the North have out-performed those in the South.
The biggest increase in house prices was seen in Penzance in Cornwall, where the average property price has risen by 193% from £70,171 in late 2000 to £205,532 by the end of 2010.
Source: Halifax
Nationwide House Price Index figures
Seasonally adjusted figures published on 1st March showed that the average cost of a home in the UK was £161,183 during the month of February. This is a monthly rise of 0.3%, and the annual rate stands at -0.1%.
Source: Nationwide
Rightmove House Price Index figures
Rightmove’s February survey shows the asking price of a typical UK property in the period from 9th January to 12th February 2011 was £230,030, an increase of 3.1 % from the previous month. House asking prices are only 0.3% higher than a year ago.
Source: Rightmove
Homes Repossessions
The number of house repossessions in 2010 totalled 36,300, which is just 0.3% of all mortgages. This is 24% lower than 2009.
Source: Council of Mortgage LendersÂ
Next Monthly Market Fact File due in early April.