London is leading the ongoing but mixed growth in UK property prices, based on government reports that contradict gloomier lender statistics. Yearly transaction totals nearly doubled for high-end property, reflecting the disparity in access to financing that has left many first-time buyers out in the cold. See the following article from Property Wire for more on this.
Residential property prices in parts of the UK are still rising according to the latest government figures and on contrast to indices from lenders.
Data for August from the Land Registry, which records actual prices paid for property in England and Wales, show that prices increased 0.3%.
The average house price rose to £167,423 and represents a 6.7% annual increase in prices. But the picture is patchy. For example, prices fell 1.4% in Yorkshire and The Humber compared to July.
Yet in London they have increased by 11.4% on an annual basis. Average home prices in the capital stood at £345,734, more than double the average across the country.
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And the number of properties sold in England and Wales for more than £1 million soared 81% over the 12 month period to June.
The region with the smallest annual price rise is the North East with a movement of 1.6%. The West Midlands experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 1.2%.
The figures reveal that the real estate market is fragmented, according to TUC General Secretary Brendan Barber, with the rich able to afford to move and families and first time buyers struggling to get loans.
‘House sales are recovering for the well off, yet first time buyers are still struggling to find affordable mortgages. The Government needs to steer the banks towards lending policies that meet the needs of ordinary working people struggling to find their first home or we could be storing up huge problems for the UK labor market in the future,’ he said.
The figures from the Land Registry are always eagerly awaited as they are for actual sales.
Unlike the bank and building society indices, the Land Registry holds details of all house sales in England and Wales, including the substantial minority that are sold without recourse to a mortgage, for example, when a buyer has sold an inherited property.
The figures are in stark contrast to other indices released in recent days. Earlier this week Hometrack’s report showed that prices fell 0.4% in September, the third monthly decline in a row.
Both Nationwide and the Council for Mortgage Lenders said prices were down in August, versus July and HMRC recorded a 6% fall in the number of home sales.
Last week, the British Bankers Association said mortgage lending fell in August, with the month seeing the lowest number of new mortgages so far this year.
This article has been republished from Property Wire. You can also view this article at Property Wire, an international real estate news site.
