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
Mortgage Lending by the Major UK Lenders
According to Trends in Lending April 2013, the latest quarterly publication from the Bank of England, comprising major UK lenders Banco Santander, Barclays, HSBC, Lloyds Banking Group, Nationwide and Royal Bank of Scotland, the number of mortgage approvals for house purchase was 55,300 in December 2012, 54,200 in January 2013 and 51,700 in February 2013. Remortgaging loans numbered 27,900 in December, 25,800 in January and 26,800 in February.
Source: Bank of England
ONS House Price Index figures.
Figures for the year to February 2013, published by the Office for National Statistics on 16th April 2013, show that house prices increased by 1.9% over the year, to an average of £233k..
The average house price in England in February 2013 was £242k, £160k in Wales, £125k in Northern Ireland and £177k in Scotland.
Over the year to February 2013, England’s rise was 2.1% and Wales’ was 4.1%. Scotland’s fell by 1.2% but Northern Ireland’s figure fell by 7.7% over the year. (House prices in Northern Ireland have fallen every year for 5 years.)
Splitting England into regions, London’s prices rose over the year by 5.9%, followed by the North East which rose by 2.4%. Prices in the North West were largely unchanged – a drop of 0.1%.
First-time buyers’s average house price paid in February was £173k. Over the year, this is an increase of 1.6%. Existing owners paid an average of £269k in February, an increase of 2.1% over the year.
The average price paid for a new-build dwelling was £230k in February, which is 0.3% lower than last February. The average price paid for a pre-owned building was £234k, which is 2.1% 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 £161,793 as at the end of March 2013, according to the report published on 29th April 2013.
The Monthly change in March in England and Wales was a 0.1% rise.
The Annual change to March in England and Wales was a rise of 0.9%.
Source: Land Registry
Halifax House Price Index figures.
The average price of a house by the end of March 2013 was £163,943, according to the Halifax House Price Index published 5th April 2013. House prices in March were 0.2% higher than in February, and the quarterly figure was up by 1.2%. The seasonally adjusted figures show that house prices are 1.1% 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 1st May 2013 showed that the average cost of a home in the UK was £165,586 during the month of April. After seasonal adjustment, this is a slight change from March (a drop of 0.1%), but the annual rate is a 0.9% rise.
Source: Nationwide
Rightmove House Price Index figures
Rightmove’s April survey (published 15th April 2013) shows the asking price of a typical UK property in the period from 10th March to 6th April 2013 was £244,706, an increase of 2.1% on the previous month. House asking prices are 0.4% higher than a year ago.
Source: Rightmove
Acadametrics House Price Index figures
LSL Property Services/Acadametrics’ March figures, published 12th April 2013, show that the average house price in England and Wales was £230,078 in March. This is only a 0.2% increase from February, but a 3.0% rise since last March.
Source: Acadametrics Ltd
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Housing Market Survey for March 2013 (published 9th April 2013) says that there is a “Stable price structure at national levelâ€, and that “Transaction levels have increased”.
The North saw the largest fall in house prices in the month. Only London, the South East and the East Midlands saw prices rising.
The North West had the highest level of agreed sales, whereas East Anglia and the West Midlands saw a drop in agreed sales.
East Anglia had the highest level of new buyer enquiries in the month, while in Yorkshire & Humberside and the West Midlands, levels fell.
The highest levels of new vendor instructions were in Wales and the North West, and the lowest (by a large amount) was in East Midlands.
Source: Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors
New Mortgages granted – February Actual Figures
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that 37,900 loans were made in February for house purchase, worth £5.5 billion. This is lower than January both in number (0.8%), and in value (3.5%). However, these figures are up 4.7% and 1.9% (respectively) than last February’s figures.
Of these, first-time buyer loans totalled 16,400, valued at £2.0 billion, which is up 3.1% in number and unchanged in value on last month. This is actually 17.1% higher in number and 17.6% higher in value, compared to last February’s figures.
Home movers’ loans totalled £21.5 billion, and numbered 3,500. These figures are 3.6% lower than January’s in terms of number, and 5.4% lower in value. These figures are down 3.2% in number and 2.8% in value on last February.
The number and value of remortgage loans fell in the month – 19,500 loans worth £2.6 billion in February. These figures are 13.3% lower than last month’s in terms of volume and value. This is a decrease of 30.9% in number and 27.8% by value over the year.
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
New Mortgages granted – March Estimates
The Council of Mortgage Lenders reports that March’s estimated figure for gross mortgage lending in the UK is £11.6 billion. This is a rise of 9% on February’s £10.6 billion, but a fall of 8% from last March’s £12.6 billion.
This means that the gross lending figure for Q1 2013 is estimated at £33.8 billion, which is much the same as Q1 2012, but 9% lower than last quarter.
Source: Council of Mortgage Lenders
Regional trends in Rightmove Estate Agents Asking House Prices in England and Wales.
Rightmove’s April survey shows the asking price of a typical UK property in the period from 10th March to 6th April 2013 increased in all but one of the ten identified areas of England and Wales.
The largest monthly increase was in East Anglia where asking prices rose by 4.4% over the month from £215,120 to £224,538. However, the annual change there was not statistically significant.
Surprisingly, London had the only monthly fall of 0.5%. Average prices there fell from £496,298 in March to £493,635 in April. However, the annual change there was a 6.2% rise. This was the largest annual increase.
The largest annual decrease was in the North, down 3.5% from £151,891 in April 2012 to £146,507 in April this year. The monthly change was a rise of 0.2%..
Source: Rightmove
Regional Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in England and Wales.
The Land Registry’s March survey shows the prices of a typical UK property per region as follows:
The largest monthly increase was in London, which saw an increase over the month of 2.5%, bringing the average house price in the capital to £374,568. This is 9.6% higher than this time last year which is the largest annual rise.
The largest monthly decrease in price is in the North West, where the average price fell 2.5% to £106,537, which is 4.9% lower than a year ago.
Annually, the North East region saw the greatest decrease – a fall of 5.5% down to an average of £97,033. This is 1.8% lower than last month.
Source: Land Registry
Analysis of Acadametrics HPI data by region
The March figures show that of the ten regions specified, six had an increase in house prices in March – by far the largest was Greater London (11.3% to £439,379),
The North saw the greatest fall – 1.0% (to £140,169).
Source: Acadametrics
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in England and Wales by County/Unitary authority.
The Land Registry’s March survey shows the prices of a typical UK property per county or unitary authority as follows:
The greatest monthly price increase is Ceredigion, where the average price is up by 6.0% to £160,820. This is 8.6% up on last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price was once again Middlesbrough, where prices fell by 5.1% to an average of £69,049. Middlesbrough saw a fall of 16.5% on last year – the largest annual drop.
Blaenau Gwent saw the greatest annual increase – up 11.9% to £79,759.
Ten 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 February 2012 and February 2013 (excluding Greater London) was Merthyr Tydfil, where the average house price rose by 8.8% to £98,091. Next was Cambridgeshire which saw a rise of 8.1% to £246,499 in the same period.
The greatest decreases were Ceredigion’s 13.0% drop (to £160,872), and Middlesbrough’s drop of 10.8% (to £107,345).
Wiltshire experienced no statistically significant change at all over the year – the average price fell by £98 to £238,195.
Source: Acadametrics
Rightmove’s analysis of asking prices by London Borough.
In the period from 10th March to 6th April 2013, the largest increase in asking prices was in Camden, where they rose by 4.5% to an average of £981,879. Next highest, Brent, saw a rise this month of 2.9% to £692,067. The annual rises were 7.7% and 2.9% respectively.
In Hammersmith & Fulham, asking prices fell by 3.4% in the month, but rose by 7.2% over the year. The average house price there is now £972,175.
Annually, Kensington & Chelsea saw the highest rise (12.4%) to an average of £2,357,306, even though the monthly rise was 1.8%. Barking & Dagenham saw the largest annual decrease, where average asking prices have fallen by 5.6% to £216,183 over the year. The monthly change there was a drop of 1.3%.
Source: Rightmove
Acadametrics data analysed by London Borough
Comparing February 2012 to February 2013, the City of Westminster had the greatest increase in house prices - 39.4% to an average of £1,224,874. Kensington & Chelsea is still the most expensive borough at an average of £1,545,236.
Two boroughs saw a decrease over the period – Redbridge (by 2.0% to £279,707), and Havering (by 1.8% to £238,695). Barking & Dagenham remains the cheapest borough in terms of house prices at an average of £183,103, although this is 2.8% higher than last year.
Source: Acadametrics
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices by Metropolitan District.
The Land Registry’s March survey shows the average prices of property by Metropolitan District as follows:
The greatest monthly price increase is in Dudley, where the average price is up by 2.0% to £118,573. This is 0.5% higher than last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price is shared between Rotherham and Sefton, where prices fell by 1.7% to an average of £97,010 and £116,072 respectively. These are 2.2% and 4.9% lower than last year.
Walsall saw the greatest annual increase – up 4.4% to £110,260. The monthly change here was an increase of 1.1%.
Oldham saw a fall of 12.2% over the year to £75,559, although the monthly drop was of only 0.2%.
The only district to see no monthly change was Wakefield.
Source: Land Registry
Analysis of Land Registry’s House Prices in Greater London.
The Land Registry’s March survey shows the average prices of property per London Borough as follows:
The greatest monthly price increases are in Barking & Dagenham, and Hammersmith & Fulham - the average price is up by 1.9% in both boroughs, to £213,581 and £602,693 respectively. These are 2.5% and 13.1% higher than last year.
The greatest monthly decrease in price is in Islington, where prices fell by 0.7% to an average of £499,266. This is 5.6% higher than last year.
All boroughs saw a price rise over the year, but the smallest annual rise was in Greenwich, which saw a rise of 0.9% on last year, to £266,900 – there was a monthly fall of 0.1% here.
As mentioned above, Hammersmith & Fulham saw the greatest annual increase of 13.1%.
Kensington & Chelsea saw the next highest annual increase (12.2% to £1,104,770) followed by Camden’s 11.2% to £652,417.
Source: Land Registry
Rightmove’s Asking Prices by Property Type
In the year to 6th April 2013, the average change over all property types was an increase of 0.8%. All types of property (which Rightmove classify) are up on last year. Flats’ and Apartments’ asking prices rose by 3.9%, and Terraced properties’ prices rose by 2.1%.
Semi-Detached properties’ prices did slightly less well, rising by 1.8%, whereas Detached property asking prices rose by 0.8% since last year.
Source: Rightmove
Land Registry’s Average Prices by Property Type
The Land Registry’s March average price figures analysed by property type show that the prices over all types of property rose by 0.9% in the year since March 2012. The average price is now £161,793.
Flats & Maisonette properties rose by 2.4% to £153,575 over the year, and Detached properties rose by 1.8% to £256,145. Semi-detached properties rose by 0.1% to an average of £153,270 whereas terraced properties fell by 0.3% to an average of £121,616.
Source: Land Registry
Latest Property Sales Volumes by price range
According to the Land Registry’s March Report, in January 2013, 41,763 sales transactions took place in England and Wales, and 6,508 in London. This represents a fall of 5% in England & Wales, and a rise of 1% in London since last January’s figures, (43,752 and 6,465 respectively).
Compared to last January, in the price bracket of over £1 million, the sales volume in London increased from 321 to 412 – a rise of 28%, and in England & Wales it increased from 476 to 610 – a rise of 28% also.
At the other end of the market (below £250k), the volume fell: by 8.0% from 32,721 to 30,112 in England & Wales, and by 10.6% from 2,694 to 2,408 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.
April’s figures (published 29th April 2013) show that the average amount of time that a house is on the market has dropped to 9.1 weeks. Regionally, this ranges from 4.6 weeks in London to 13.9 weeks in the East Midlands.
On average, 93.7% of the asking price is achieved, ranging from 95.3% in the South East, down to 92.4% in the North West.
21.6% of postcode districts reported a price increase in April, a fall from 23.9% in March. 4.6% had a price decrease over the month, down slightly from 4.7% in March.
Source: Hometrack
Land Registry Quarterly Sales Volumes
In the quarter from October 2012 to January 2013 (the latest for which figures are available), the average number of house sales per month was 54,810. This is down on the same period a year ago, when the average was 56,445 sales per month.
Source: Land Registry
Land Registry figures including Repossessions.
The headline figures in the March 2013 report are altered when repossession data is included – the average house price is then £158,708: 0.3% up on February and 1.1% up on March 2012.
In the months from October to January, the number of repossessions averaged 1,458 per month. In the same period last year, the average was 1,700 per month.
There was a total reduction in the number of repossessions over the year to January 2013 of 18%. Regional analysis shows the West Midlands had 48% fewer repossessions than last January, whereas London had 28% more.
Source: Land Registry
Outstanding Mortgage Debt
The average outstanding mortgage for the 11.3m households who currently have mortgages is estimated at £112,153 in February 2013.
Outstanding secured lending in the UK on dwellings totalled £1,266 billion at the end of February 2013. This is up from the previous February’s £1,249 billion.
Source: Credit Action
Next Monthly Market Fact File due in early June.