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 very low level for a record period of 4 years (since March 2009).
Source: Bank of England
ONS House Price Index figures.
Figures for the year to January 2013, published by the Office for National Statistics on 19th March 2013, show that house prices increased by 2.2% over the year, to an average of £234k..
The average house price in England in December 2012 was £242k, £158k in Wales, £130k in Northern Ireland and £179k in Scotland.
Over the year to January 2013, England’s rise was 2.4% and Wales’ was 0.9%. Scotland’s fell by 0.2% but Northern Ireland’s figure fell by 5.4% over the year.
Splitting England into regions, London’s prices rose over the year by 5.5%, followed by the East which rose by 3.0%. Prices in the South West were largely unchanged – a rise of 0.1%.
First-time buyers’s average house price paid in January was £175k. Over the year, this is an increase of 2.0%. Existing owners paid an average of £269k in January, an increase of 2.2% over the year.
The average price paid for a new-build dwelling was £223k in January, which is 4.0% higher than last January. The average price paid for a pre-owned building was £235k, which is 3.2% higher than the previous year.
Source: ONS
Land Registry’s Property Prices in England and Wales
The Average price of a property in England and Wales is now £162,606 as at the end of February 2013, according to the report published on 28th March 2013.
The Monthly change in February in England and Wales was a 0.2% rise.
The Annual change to February in England and Wales was a rise of 1.0%.
Source: Land Registry
Halifax House Price Index figures.
The average price of a house by the end of February 2013 was £163,600, according to the Halifax House Price Index published 6th March 2013. House prices in February were 0.5% higher than in January, and the quarterly figure was up by 1.9%. The seasonally adjusted figures show that house prices are 1.9% higher than at this time last year, measured by the average for the latest quarter against the same period a year earlier.
Source: Halifax
Nationwide House Price Index figures
Nationwide House Price Index figures published on 28th March 2013 showed that the average cost of a home in the UK was £164,630 during the month of March. After seasonal adjustment, this is not a statistically significant change from February, but the annual rate is a 0.8% rise.
Source: Nationwide
Rightmove House Price Index figures
Rightmove’s February survey (published 18th March 2013) shows the asking price of a typical UK property in the period from 11th February to 9th March 2013 was £239,710, an increase of 1.7% on the previous month. House asking prices are 1.2% higher than a year ago.
Source: Rightmove
Acadametrics House Price Index figures
LSL Property Services/Acadametrics’ February figures, published 8th March 2013, show that the average house price in England and Wales was £229,544 in February. This is only a 0.6% increase from January, but a 3.7% rise since last February.
Source: Acadametrics Ltd
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Housing Market Survey for February 2013 (published 12th March 2013) says that there is a “Stable price structure at national levelâ€, but that “Sales and prices are expected to rise moderately over the next three months”.
East Anglia saw the largest fall in house prices in the month. Only London and the South East saw prices rising.
The South East had the highest level of agreed sales, whereas the West Midlands had the lowest.
London and Scotland had the highest level of new buyer enquiries in the month, while in East Anglia, Yorkshire & Humberside, the North and Wales, levels fell.
The highest level of new vendor instructions was in the East Midlands, closely followed by Scotland, and the lowest was in Yorkshire & Humberside.
Source: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
New Mortgages granted – January Actual Figures
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that 38,300 loans were made in January for house purchase, worth £5.7 billion. This is lower than December both in number (16.6%), and in value (17.4%). However, these figures are up 10.7% and 9.6% (respectively) than last January’s figures.
Of these, first-time buyer loans totalled 15,900, valued at £2.0 billion, which is down 18.5% in number and down 20.0% in value on last month. This is actually 24.2% higher in number and 25.0% higher in value, compared to last January’s figures.
Home movers’ loans totalled £22.3 billion, and numbered 3,700. These figures are 15.5% lower than December’s in terms of number, and 15.9% lower in value. These figures are up 2.8% both in number and value on last January.
The number and value of remortgage loans rose in the month – 22,500 loans worth £3.0 billion in January. These figures are 3.2% higher than last month’s in terms of volume, and 3.4% higher in value. However, this is a decrease of 22.9% in number and 23.1% by value over the year.
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
New Mortgages granted – February Estimates
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that February’s estimated figure for gross mortgage lending in the UK is £10.5 billion. This is a fall of 8% on January’s £11.4 billion, but a rise of 1% from last February’s £10.4 billion.
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
Regional trends in Rightmove Estate Agents Asking House Prices in England and Wales.
Rightmove’s February survey shows the asking price of a typical UK property in the period from 10th February to 9th March 2013 increased in all but one of the ten identified areas of England and Wales.
The largest monthly increase was in the South East where asking prices rose by 4.2% over the month from £297,036 to £309,439. The annual change there was a 0.6% rise (from £307,728).
The West Midlands had the only monthly fall of 0.4%. Average prices there fell from £186,094 in February to £185,942 in March. However, the annual change there was a 2.2% rise.
The largest annual increase was once again in Greater London, where average prices rose 9.0% over the year to £496,298.
The largest annual decrease was in East Anglia, down 3.8% from £223,558 in March 2012 to £215,120 in March this year. There was no significant monthly change.
Source: Rightmove
Regional Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in England and Wales.
The Land Registry’s February survey shows the prices of a typical UK property per region as follows:
The largest monthly increase was in Wales, which saw an increase over the month of 3.6%, bringing the average house price in the region to £120,410. This is 1.7% higher than this time last year.
The largest monthly decrease in price is in the South West, where the average price fell 0.8% to £170,299, which is 0.7% lower than a year ago.
Annually, the largest increase was London, where the average price rose by 6.3% in the month to £370,819 – this is 0.1% lower than last month. The Yorkshire & Humberside region saw the greatest decrease – a fall of 0.9% down to an average of £116,567. This is 1.3% higher than last month.
Source: Land Registry
Analysis of Acadametrics HPI data by region
The February figures show that of the ten regions specified, six had an increase in house prices in January – by far the largest was Greater London (10.2% to £434,681),
Wales saw the greatest fall – 0.6% (to £151,099).
Source: Acadametrics
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in England and Wales by County/Unitary authority.
The Land Registry’s February survey shows the prices of a typical UK property per county or unitary authority as follows:
The greatest monthly price increase is in Blaenau Gwent, where the average price is up by 9.9% to £76,783. This is 11.5% up on last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price was Middlesbrough, where prices fell by 4.5% to an average of £72,058. Middlesbrough saw a fall of 8.9% on last year – the largest annual drop.
Merthyr Tydfil saw the greatest annual increase – up 15.1% to £68,646.
Six counties / authorities saw no price movement in the month.
Source: Land Registry
Analysis of Acadametrics HPI data by County/Unitary Authority
The unitary authority with the largest increase in house prices between January 2012 and January 2013 (excluding Greater London) was Windsor & Maidenhead, where the average house price rose by 11.1% to £459,459. Next was West Berkshire which saw a rise of 8.8% to £323,066 in the same period.
The greatest decreases were Middlesbrough’s 9.3% drop (to £107,540), and Ceredigion’s drop of 9.0% (to £167,457).
Luton experienced no statistically significant change at all over the year – the average price fell by £41 to £157,034.
Source: Acadametrics
Rightmove’s analysis of asking prices by London Borough.
In the period from 10th February to 9th March 2013, the largest increase in asking prices was in Kensington & Chelsea, where they rose by 6.2% to an average of £2,316,256. Next highest, Lambeth, saw a rise this month of 6.0% to £502,200. The annual rise was 15.8%.
In Bromley, asking prices fell by 1.7% in the month, and by 4.2% over the year. The average house price there is now £347,194.
Annually, Hammersmith & Fulham saw the highest rise (16.8%) to an average of £1,580,380. Richmond-upon-Thames saw the largest annual decrease, where average asking prices have fallen by 4.9% to £4690,306 over the year.
Source: Rightmove
Acadametrics data analysed by London Borough
Comparing January 2012 to January 2013, the City of Westminster had the greatest increase in house prices - 38.4% to an average of £1,199,385. Kensington & Chelsea is still the most expensive borough at an average of £1,451,267.
Three boroughs saw a decrease over the period – Newham (by 2.1% to £221,460), Redbridge (by 1.2% to £282,716) and Sutton (by 0.7% to £264,065). Barking & Dagenham remains the cheapest borough in terms of house prices at an average of £184,449, although this is 3.7% higher than last year.
Source: Acadametrics
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices by Metropolitan District.
The Land Registry’s February survey shows the average prices of property by Metropolitan District as follows:
The greatest monthly price increase is in Sefton, where the average price is up by 3.3% to £118,988. This is 0.4% lower than last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price is in Bury, where prices fell by 4.0% to an average of £103,886. This is 4.3% lower than last year.
Newcastle-upon-Tyne saw the greatest annual increase – up 2.1% to £115,096. The monthly change here was an increase of 1.4%.
Oldham saw a fall of 12.7% over the year to £75,825, despite seeing no movement in the month.
The only other district to see no monthly change was North Tyneside.
Source: Land Registry
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in Greater London.
The Land Registry’s February survey shows the average prices of property per London Borough as follows:
The greatest monthly price increase is in Bexley, where the average price is up by 1.8% to £230,149. This is 2.8% higher than last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price is in Hounslow, where prices fell by 0.5% to an average of £285,927. This is 2.4% higher than last year.
The largest annual drop was once again in Barking & Dagenham, which saw a fall of 1.9% on last year, to £208,034 – there was a monthly rise of 0.2% here.
Hammersmith & Fulham saw the greatest annual increase – up 13.3% to £593,787. The monthly increase here was 1.6%.
Also in double-figures, Kensington & Chelsea saw the next highest annual increase (12% to £1,090,943) followed by Camden’s 10.3% to £646,043.
Source: Land Registry
Rightmove’s Asking Prices by Property Type
Rightmove have published figures showing National Asking Prices analysed by property type.
In the year to 9th March 2013, the average change over all property types was an increase of 1.2%. All types of property (which Rightmove classify) are up on last year. Flats’ and Apartments’ asking prices rose by 4.3%, and Terraced properties’ prices rose by 2.8%.
Semi-Detached properties’ prices did slightly less well, rising by 2.0%, whereas Detached property asking prices rose by 1.4% since last year.
Source: Rightmove
Land Registry’s Average Prices by Property Type
The Land Registry’s February average price figures analysed by property type show that the prices over all types of property rose by 1.0% in the year since February 2012. The average price is now £162,606.
Flats & Maisonette properties rose by 2.2% to £153,687 over the year, terraced properties rose by 1.4% to an average of £123,567, and semi-detached properties rose by 0.7% to an average of £154,420. Detached properties fell by 0.2% to £254,137.
Source: Land Registry
Latest Property Sales Volumes by price range
According to the Land Registry’s February Report, in December 2012, 53,860 sales transactions took place in England and Wales, and 7,171 in London. This represents a fall of 15% in England & Wales, and a fall of 12% in London since last December’s figures, (63,600 and 8,158 respectively).
Despite this, compared to last December, in the price bracket of over £1 million, the sales volume in London increased from 323 to 420 – a rise of 30%, and in England & Wales it increased from 501 to 598 – a rise of 19%.
At the other end of the market (below £250k), the volume fell by 18% from 48,453 to 39,731 in England & Wales, and by 25% from 3,548 to 2,650 in London.
Source: Land Registry
Hometrack Monthly House Price Survey
Hometrack compile sample data monthly from thousands of Estate Agents in all 2,300 postcodes in England and Wales. The figures are weighted according to postcode, but not seasonally adjusted.
March’s figures (published 25th March 2013) show that the average amount of time that a house is on the market has dropped slightly to 9.5 weeks. Regionally, this ranges from 4.9 weeks in London to 13.3 weeks in the East Midlands.
On average, 93.5% of the asking price is achieved, ranging from 95.3% in Greater London, down to 91.9% in Wales.
23.9% of postcode districts reported a price increase in March, a rise from 14.8% in February. 4.7% had a price decrease over the month, down from 8.0% in February.
The increases were predominantly in London (60%).
Source: Hometrack
Analysis of Nationwide’s UK House Prices Index report for Q1 2013.
In Quarter 1 of 2013, the average UK house price has been calculated (after seasonal adjustment) as £163,056 by the Nationwide. This is 0.8% higher than Q4/12, and gives a figure of a 0.2% increase since the same quarter last year. For the sixth successive quarter, the most expensive region in the UK to buy a property is, not surprisingly, London, and the least expensive region is once again Northern Ireland.
House prices in Northern Ireland are now 0.9% down on last year, but 4.4% up on last quarter, standing at an average of £108,610. The City of Belfast once again saw the highest prices, even though, at £150,778, the annual rate is 1% down on Q4’s annual rate.
On the other hand, London had an increase in house prices of 4.6% on last year, and a 2.8% increase on last quarter. The average price is £306,919. Westminster is still the most expensive borough, with average prices (£725,754) more than three and a half times the average price in the cheapest borough, Barking & Dagenham (£196,090).
House prices in England have risen 1.2% over the quarter, and 1.3% over the year. The North is the cheapest place in England to buy a property at the moment. The average price in England is £187,313.
Wales’ quarterly change was a rise of 1.9%, and there was an annual increase of 2.5%. The average price in Wales is now £132,971, and Cardiff remains the most expensive area with the average house price being £199,520.
Scotland’s house prices fell 1.4% on last quarter, and dropped 4.9% from last year, to an average price of £128,594. Edinburgh City is currently the most expensive place to buy a house in Scotland – the average price here is £229,043.
Looking at towns and cities within England, Cambridge once again performed best, with a house price increase of 9% since last year. The average price of a house in Cambridge is £351,313.
The worst performances in England were Liverpool and Carlisle, where prices dropped by 10% in the year. House prices here average £143,096 and £123,044 respectively.
Source: Nationwide
Nationwide sub-regional analysis of average house prices over the last 10 years.
Analysing the price rises over Great Britain by region over the last ten years shows some major differences.
In the Aberdeen & Moray region of Scotland, house prices are now 109% higher than they were in Q1 2003. At the other end of the scale, house prices in Swindon, Wiltshire, are only 13% higher than they were then. The Southampton area has seen average prices rise by only 17% in the last 10 years.
In London, house prices in the borough of Westminster are 97% higher than in 2003, whereas in Sutton and Croydon, prices have risen only by 26% in the same ten year period.
Source: Nationwide
Land Registry Quarterly Sales Volumes
In the quarter from September to December 2012 (the latest for which figures are available), the average number of house sales per month was 56,886. This is down on the same period in 2011, when the average was 61,392 sales per month.
Source: Land Registry
Land Registry figures including Repossessions.
The headline figures in the February 2013 report are altered when repossession data is included – the average house price is then £160,412: 0.4% up on January and 1.6% up on February 2012.
In the months from September to December, the number of repossessions averaged 1,440 per month. In the same period last year, the average was 1,774 per month.
There was a total reduction in the number of repossessions over the year to December 2012 of 26%. Regional analysis shows the South East had 42% fewer repossessions than last December, whereas London had 3% more.
Source: Land Registry
Home Builders Federation figures
Home Builders Federation’s latest Housing Pipeline Report states that the number of planning permissions granted in England in the last quarter of 2012 was 51,000 residential units. This is a 40% rise on the previous quarter, and a 60% rise on last year.
41,800 were private approvals, which is a 43% rise on Q3 2012 and 61% higher than Q4 2011. Social housing approvals in this quarter rose to 7,100, up 15% on Q3 2012 but up 39% on a year ago.
HBF say that although the number of units approved during 2012 was up 19% on a year ago, it is still 39% down on the levels in 2006/7.
Source: HBF
Next Monthly Market Fact File due in early May.