Transactions fall across England and Wales

The average price of a home in England and Wales fell by 0.8% in March, according to the Land Registry.

land_registry_logoThe number of residential property transactions in the three months to January fell by 18 per cent at an average of 71,090 a month compared to the corresponding period a year earlier, the latest figures from the Land Registry show.

The data also reveals that the average price of a home in England and Wales dropped by 0.8 per cent in March, following several months of slowing activity.

The figures, which are based on sold prices, put the average price of a property at £178,007, 5.3 per cent higher than in March last year.

The month-on-month decline in property prices reflects the fact that inquiries from prospective homebuyers has fallen in recent months, while mortgage lending has dropped.

Despite the overall decline in prices, two regions, London and the south east of England, did record month-on-month price increases of 0.8 and 0.2 per cent respectively. In contrast, the north east of England witnessed a 4 per cent fall.

adrian_gill_reeds_rains_youOn an annual basis, double digit price increases continued to be recorded in London and the south east, but growth was far more modest in other regions, while in the north east prices fell by 2.9 per cent year-on-year.

The highest property prices were recorded in London, at an average price of £462,799, while in the north east, homes changed hands for an average of £97,444.

Adrian Gill (left), Director of Your Move and Reeds Rains estate agents, commented, “Pre-election nerves have anchored house price rises temporarily. London and the South East are the only regions where property values continued to make headway in March, but growth hasn’t washed up on an annual basis and the flow of housing market activity should cast off again once the votes are counted. Cheaper mortgage rates and schemes like the Help to Buy ISA are already in place to ensure the market has the wind in its sails by the summer.”

london_propertiesFirst-time buyers are a popular focus for political parties, and as the Election approaches there have been last-minute pledges to raise the stamp duty threshold, but Gill has accused politicians of ultimately “playing smoke and mirrors” with these promises.

He continued, “Behind it all, there is a void of available homes for people to buy. Inciting further demand at the lower rungs at the ladder – without injecting any extra stock into the market at the same time – is only going to cause a traffic jam, and accelerate prices in the meantime.”


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