Average UK House Price Falls For First Time In Months

The average price of a UK home fell 1.9 per cent between March and April but was still 8.9 per cent higher than it was in April 2020, according to HM Land Registry’s latest House Price Index. The index showed the average price of a property in April 2021 was £250,772, down from £255,707 the month before. Since at least May 2020, average house prices within the UK have increased incrementally. The increase in mortgage lending throughout March, itself boosted by the Stamp Duty holiday, to £35.6bn was thought to have boosted April’s sales, even though the average price fell. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/average-uk-house-price-falls-for-first-time-in-months/

House Prices Were Flat In February

House prices remained flat in the UK in February, according to the latest official figures from the Land Registry. The lack of change left annual house price inflation up at 8.6%, following the surge in prices seen in the wake of the spring 2020 lockdown. The figures reflect activity prior to the chancellor’s announcement on 3 March of an extension to the current stamp duty holiday for homes under £500k in value, and of the introduction of a mortgage guarantee system to support 95% loan to value mortgages. Read more on the Housing Today website.

https://www.housingtoday.co.uk/news/house-prices-were-flat-in-february/5111485.article

Home 'Flipping' In The UK Reaches 12-Year High

The proportion of homes in England and Wales that have been bought, renovated and sold again within a short period has hit a 12-year high, with Burnley in Lancashire topping the list of properties most commonly “flipped”. So far this year, one in every 40 homes sold were bought and sold within 12 months, according to research from estate agent Hamptons International using Land Registry data, the most since 2008. In Burnley, it was about one in 12. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, which brought the housing market to a standstill for several weeks, Hamptons predicts that about 23,000 homes will be flipped this year, up from 20,857 last year, and investors are on track to make greater profits. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/nov/23/home-flipping-in-the-uk-reaches-12-year-high-despite-covid-crisis 

UK House Prices Rise At Their Lowest Annual Rate In Five Years

UK house prices grew at the slowest rate in five years in August, in the latest figures to identify a growing divergence between a sluggish London property market and faster rates of growth other regions. The average price of a UK home increased by 3.2% in the year to August, to £232,797, in the lowest annual rate of growth since August 2013, according to the figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry. London was the only region where prices fell on an annual basis, down 0.2% in year to August, but it was still easily the most expensive place to by a home, with average prices at £486,304. Read more on the Guardian website.

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2018/oct/17/uk-house-prices-rise-lowest-annual-rate-five-years-london-fall

Average Property Prices Up More Than 300% In Many Parts Of England Since 2000

Waltham Forest in London has seen prices rise the most in England since 2000 with Southend on Sea recording the highest growth outside of the capital city, new research shows. Prices have increased by 364.9% in the borough of Waltham Forest in London with eight borough seeing growth above 300% in the last 18 years, according to the analysis of land registry figures by online estate agents HouseSimple. Outside of London some 19 towns and cities have seen prices rise above 250%, led by Southend on Sea at 290.9% with average prices up from £71,879 to £280,948, followed by Bristol with a rise of 279.9% from £71,973 to £273,393 and Cambridge up 279.2% from £118,216 to £448,243. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/uk/average-property-prices-300-many-parts-england-since-2000/

Number Of Leasehold New-Build Houses Soars Ahead Of Government Ban

The number of houses sold under leasehold agreements soared last year ahead of a Government crackdown on unfair ground rent increases. An analysis of Land Registry data by the Office for National Statistics has shown that 15.6pc of new build houses, which excludes flats and maisonettes, were sold as leaseholds in 2017. This is a significantly higher number compared with five years ago when 9.4pc of new build houses - excluding those sold under discount schemes such as Right to Buy - were sold as leaseholds. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/property/uk/number-leasehold-new-build-houses-soars-ahead-government-ban/

Councillor Renting Out 10 Ex-Authority Homes In ‘Right To Buy To Let’ Capital

The council with the highest level of stock sold under the Right to Buy now in the private rented sector is Milton Keynes, with 70.9% of 1,609 flats sold under the policy in the hands of private landlords. Inside Housing has learned that John Bint, who has been a councillor since 2007, is likely to be receiving thousands of pounds a month in rent payments through buying the properties. A register of interests document for Mr Bint from June 2017 shows he owns 14 homes in Milton Keynes. Information obtained from the Land Registry indicates that 10 of these were owned by the council before being sold. Read more on Inside Housing.

https://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/councillor-in-right-to-buy-to-let-capital-renting-out-10-ex-authority-homes-54043?utm_source=Housing60&utm_medium=email&utm_content=article_link&utm_campaign=H60

UK HPI: House Prices Up 5.1%

The latest data and analysis from ONS/Land Registry has revealed that average house prices in the UK have increased by 5.1% in the year to July 2017. The annual growth rate has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained broadly around 5% during 2017. According to the UK HPI, the average UK house price was £226,000 in July 2017. This is £11,000 higher than in July 2016 and £2,000 higher than last month. The main contribution to the increase in UK house prices came from England, where house prices increased by 5.4% over the year to July 2017, with the average price in England now £243,000. Read more on the property reporter website.

SDLT Reform Has ‘Shattered The Property Market’

The government’s decision to introduce stamp duty land tax (SDLT) reforms 12 months ago has had an adverse impact on the overall housing market across England and Wales, fresh research shows. Analysis of data from Land Registry and Zoopla reveals that the number of homes changing hands has fallen by almost a fifth - 19% - across England and Wales and by as much as 35% in London, as the government’s 3% stamp duty surcharge on second homes deters many investors from buying property. The most significant slowdown in activity was at the top end of the market, with the vast majority of listed properties valued at more than £500,000 remaining unsold. Read more on Property Investor Today.

Where Are House Prices For First-Time Buyers Rising Fastest?

House price growth among first-time buyers increased for the first time since Brexit in November, according to new Land Registry figures. A Telegraph analysis of the data shows that the cost of an average first-time buyer property rose by 7.1 per cent in England to £196,379 - more than £12k higher than in November 2015. The Land Registry data had been showing a slowing down in prices since the UK voted to leave the EU in June last year, with growth decreasing to 6.7 per cent in the year to October. This is the lowest growth among first-time buyers since the year to October 2015. Read more on the Daily Telegraph website.

House Price Inflation Slows Again

House price inflation across the UK is continuing to ease, according to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Prices rose by 6.9% in the year to October, down from 7% in September. The average price remains at £217,000, according to the index, which includes data from the Land Registry and Registers of Scotland. Areas near London saw the fastest price rises, but the City of London and Aberdeen saw the biggest falls. Prices fell by 8.8% in the City of London, by 8.7% in Aberdeen, and by 4.9% in Kensington and Chelsea. Read more on the BBC website.

House Prices Up 5.3% In A Year

September property prices in England and Wales were up 5.3 per cent compared to a year ago - largely led by a revival in 'up and coming' pockets of London, official figures show today. The Land Registry, which records actual sale prices, said that In the capital values rose 9.6 per cent compared to September 2014, meaning the average property now has a price tag just £3 short of £500,000. Although house values have continued to go up across London, the rate of growth has been slowing since a peak last summer. At one point, prices were soaring by an annual 20 per cent. As a whole, property prices rose one per cent in September compared to August, according to the figures which lag one month behind other indices. Read more on the Daily Mail website.

Incomes Far Behind House Price Growth

A comprehensive survey of house prices and incomes in England and Wales has shown buyers must now spend six times their income even in the cheapest areas. The Guardian said it had analysed 19 million sales over 20 years (from Land Registry and HMRC data) which demonstrated that "in every region in England and Wales there have been dramatic increases in house prices in proportion to incomes, fuelling concerns that millions will be locked out of the UK property market". In 1995, a homebuyer on the median salary for their region spent 3.2-4.4 times their salary on a house, depending on where they lived. The paper said that "in 2012-13, the last year for which complete data is available, the median house price had risen to between 6.1 times and 12.2 times median regional incomes". Read more on 24dash.

OECD Warns Housing Market Is At Risk of 'Overheating'

The international think tank has said help to buy may be fuelling a housing bubble. In its latest economic forecast, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development suggests ‘reducing housing market stimulus’ should be considered to avoid the housing market overheating. The OECD says that, for the UK, there is a ‘downside risk’ that ‘policies are ineffective in containing the housing market, resulting in overheating’. The latest figures from the Land Registry for March show house prices across the UK have risen by 5.6 per cent year-on-year. However, lenders have reported higher annual average increases. Read more on Inside Housing.

Help to Buy Could Cause 11% Rise In House Prices

Lenders have issued a stark warning to government that Help to Buy could send house prices soaring to 2007 levels today.  Research by the Intermediary Mortgage Lenders Association shows nearly 60 per cent of lenders and brokers believe a house price bubble could undermine the success of the scheme. The research shows lenders already anticipate a 2.7 per cent increase in the average house price by the end of the year, pushing it to £166,418 according to the Land Registry house price index.  Read more on Inside Housing.