The latest monthly data from Rightmove shows that nationally property prices are up by 2% year on year, the highest annual rate of increase seen in the month of November since 2007.
Even with the effect of prices rising faster in London removed from the picture, prices are still up 0.2% year on year and this means that the market is going into 2013 on a positive note, the firm said.
But the figures do mask considerable price drops in many parts of the country. The North West saw prices fall by 5.7% in November compared to October and on an annual basis prices are down 0.5%.
In the South East prices are down 4.5% on a monthly basis and down 3.4% year on year while in the North East prices are down 4.2% month on month but up 1.3% on an annual basis.
Elsewhere in the country on a monthly basis prices are down 3.8% in the South West, down 3.7% in the West Midlands, down 4.2% in the North East, down 3.1% in the East Midlands, down 3.1% in Wales, down 2% in East Anglia.
But on an annual basis prices in the South West are up 2.9%, in the West Midlands they are down 0.3%, in the North East they are up 1.3%, in the East Midlands they are up 0.1%, in Wales they are down 1.2%, in East Anglia they are up 6.5%.
In London the borough of Brent has seen the highest monthly price rise at 7.3% followed by Wandsworth at 4.6%, Kingston upon Thames at 3.7%, Camden at 3.6% and Hammersmith at 3.1%.
The poorest performing London boroughs were Newham with a monthly price fall of 3.5%, Barking and Dagenham also down 3.5%, Havering down 1.6%, Redbridge down 1.5% and Croydon down 1.4%.
‘Though the market remains patchy and national statistics are given a gloss by a buoyant London market, there are a number of positive trends that justify cautious optimism as the market enters its’ winter recess,’ said Miles Shipside, director and housing market analyst at Rightmove.
‘Outside the capital, agents report prices are broadly flat in many parts of the country compared to a year ago. This stability may indicate a sounder springboard for 2013 as the wait goes on for a sustainable recovery in transaction numbers,’ he explained.
‘There’s a two speed market, with sellers in the capital seeing near double digit price growth in a year whilst the average for everywhere else remains broadly flat,’ he added.
He pointed out that digging beneath some of the headline regional figures unearths evidence of a second two speed scenario in many local markets, with those that are willing or able to price under the competition selling and moving on, while those that can’t or won’t stay put. The monthly report also says that as the traditional winter slowdown approaches, some lead indicators are showing signs of positivity that could suggest a brighter outlook for the year ahead.
These include the fact that search activity on the Rightmove website is up by 20% on the same period last year, as home movers step up their search and research and resulting email enquiries to estate agents and developers in October were up by 11% compared to the same time 12 months ago, delivering more sales opportunities.
Also mortgage approvals were up 9.2% over the last quarter according to the latest Bank of England statistics, suggesting more successful sales completions in the pipeline, and property availability is tightening in lower price bands, with new stock coming to market in the typical first time buyer and investor brackets priced at £150,000 and below down by 5% on a
year ago.
