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The February data from Land Registry’s flagship House Price Index shows an annual price decrease of 0.6% taking the average property value in England and Wales to £161,588.
The monthly change from January to February is an increase of 0.1 per cent.
The region in England and Wales which experienced the highest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 4.2 per cent.
Wales experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 2.0 per cent. The North West experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 3.5 per cent. The North East saw the most significant monthly price fall with a decrease of 2.6 per cent.
The most up-to-date figures available show that, during December 2011, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 8 per cent to 61,470 compared to 56,875 in December 2010. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in December 2011 decreased by 13 per cent to 488 from 559 in December 2010.
Paul Hunt, managing director of Phoebus Software said:
“The modest rise in house prices last month is a vindication of the proactive approach mortgage lenders have taken over the last few months.
“The CML announced recently that gross mortgage lending has risen for seven consecutive months as the combination of low interest rates and steady house prices have provided an opportunity to lenders to make highly affordable finance available to a growing number of house purchasers.
“But we’re not out of the woods yet. On an annual basis, property prices are still falling and the return of stamp duty for first-time buyers, as well as the hefty levy on properties at the top end of the market announced in the budget will put downward pressure on property values. Whether lenders are able to maintain their confidence in the UK’s mortgage borrowers in a more hostile fiscal environment is by no means certain.
“But the MPC’s ongoing commitment to a doveish monetary policy and the implementation of the government’s New Buy scheme provide good grounds for optimism that buyers will continue to be able to access the finance with which to support pricesâ€.
David Brown, commercial director of LSL Property Services, comments:
“The housing market has been gradually improving in recent months, with both activity and house prices picking up. Although underlying improvements in overall lending in the previous six months contributed to February’s figures, much of the recent momentum in the sales market has been driven by the flurry of first-time buyers hurrying to beat the stamp duty holiday deadline.
“The litmus test for the recovery will be what ‘normal’ level first-time buyer activity returns to in coming months. Lending at this level of the market has begun to show signs of falling back, and while the NewBuy scheme may help to support a limited number of new buyers, we are likely to see a renewed increase in rental demand from frustrated first-timers in the coming months, and the private rented sector will continue its growth as the year progresses.”
Peter Hughes, director of Peter Hughes estate agents, commented:
“There has always been a gap between property prices in London and the rest of the country. But that gap is quickly turning into a gulf. Outside the capital and the South East, the market is highly fragmented. Northern England is being hit hard by public sector job cuts and consumer confidence there is on its knees.
“House sales are falling, and would be lower still were it not for the fact that interest rates have remained at an all-time low for the past three years. In many places the property market is a shadow of its former self. Both supply and demand have shrunk considerably. So it’s no surprise that prices are being squeezed.
“But prices in London continue to defy both gravity and logic – though the numbers for the capital as a whole are probably being inflated by an overheating super-prime niche at the top end of the market.
“In many ways this is a return to historical norms. The capital has always attracted wealthy foreigners, and been relatively expensive due to the simple fact that people earn more in London.
“But outside the London bubble things are tough. And they’re being made much tougher by the banks’ continued reluctance to lend. The deposits demanded and lending criteria used by many lenders are still prohibitive.
“Some people are pinning their hopes on the Government’s NewBuy scheme revitalising the market, but they’re being wildly optimistic. Demand in the current climate is so low that even more attractive homes are struggling to sell. Therefore the compromised properties out there don’t stand a chance.”
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