North West house prices grew by 6.5%

HPI

Land Registry HPI

The UK House Price Index shows house price changes for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

The Land Registry House Price Index (HPI) for August was released this week.  It showed that house prices grew by 5% across the UK, this was a 0.5 percentage point increase from the previous month. Although London showed a 1% drop since July 2017. It’s encouraging to see the house prices are still growing, despite the growth being in single figures.

  • The North West was the strongest performing region, with prices rising 6.5 per cent year-on-year. They also experienced the greatest monthly price growth with an increase of 2.3%
  • Meanwhile, London was the worst performing region, with prices rising just 2.6 per cent on the year – and falling one per cent between July and August.

Sarah Beeny, owner of estate agent, Tepilo, told Express.co.uk she believed this upward trend was going to continue thanks to a shortage in the housing market and record employment rates. 

She said: “House prices continued to rise in August, which can often be a quieter month due to Summer holidays, so this proves just how strong the market is at the moment. 

“This continuous growth doesn’t look set to stop and I expect prices will continue to steadily rise due to the ongoing shortage of properties coming to market. 

“The UK is also experiencing record employment rates, which is further helping to buoy the market, so even with the expected interest rate rise next month, I think prices will continue on an upward trajectory for the foreseeable future.”

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS)

RICS LOGO

In terms of housing demand the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) residential market survey for August 2017 reported prime central London remains the only area in which prices expectations are negative. 

In terms of demand, there was little change in buyer enquires during August, continuing a streak of flat or modestly negative readings into a ninth consecutive month.

The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices increased by 2.6% over the year. 

This is the 9th consecutive month where the growth in London house prices has remained below the UK average.

The largest annual growth was in the North West at 6.5%, closely followed by the South West, East of England and the East Midlands; all of which had a growth rate of 6.4% in the year to August 2017. 

 
In brief, the August HPI data shows:

  • an annual price increase of 5.0% which takes the average property value in the UK to £225,956
  • house prices have risen by 0.5% since July 2017
  • the monthly index figure for the UK was 118.5

The data shows:

  • in England, an annual price increase of 5.3% which takes the average property value to £243,520. House prices have risen by 0.7% since July 2017
  • in Wales, an annual price increase of 3.4% which takes the average property value to £150,258. House prices have fallen by 0.1% since July 2017
  • in London, an annual price increase of 2.6% which takes the average property value to £484,362. House prices have fallen by 1.0% since July 2017

The regional data for England and Wales indicates that:

  • the North West experienced the greatest increase in average property price over the last 12 months, with a movement of 6.5%
  • the North West also experienced the greatest monthly price growth with an increase of 2.3%
  • London saw the lowest annual price growth with an increase of 2.6%
  • London also saw the most significant monthly price fall of 1.0%

Founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk, Russell Quirk, commented:

“A rather modest rate of growth continues for the UK market but positive growth none the less, which is good news for homeowners given the turbulent market conditions.

This slowdown in price growth may seem as unusual as the sun that shone over the UK yesterday but there are positive signs peeping through the clouds. While a slowing London market may be putting a dampener on the overall forecast, England continues to lead the way where prices are concerned with many areas seeing strong annual growth.

It’s testament to the diversity and resilience of the UK market that this growth is spread across the North West, South West, East and Midlands.

With a sustained level of buyer interest, albeit more cautious than usual, the market should weather any potential storm on the horizon, with the dark clouds of recent market uncertainty already starting to lift.”

The following comments are from Lee James Pendleton, Founder Director of independent estate agents James Pendleton, may be of use:

“This market has been overvalued for three years so some common sense is starting to trickle into prices.

“I wouldn’t be running for the hills though. The smart buyers are looking at this market, and a sustained era of cheap borrowing, and waiting to poach the right property at a price that is just that little bit more realistic.

“I don’t regard this slowing in the capital as the first sign of trouble necessarily. Gradual adjustments as vendors come to the right conclusion that prices have gone too far is good for everyone in the long run.

“August may come to be seen as the final goldilocks month for buyers eyeing cheap borrowing as it was September when the chances of an imminent rate rise bounced back considerably. However, it could be 2018 before we see the effects of that.”

 

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