Annual property price growth in the UK at its highest since September 2007, figures show

The monthly rise from March to April was 0.2%, taking the average property value to £165,596, the data from Land Registry’s flagship House Price Index shows. Based on actual property sales, it is regarded as the most reliable of the regular indices to be published.
 
All regions in England and Wales experienced increases in their average property values over the last 12 months. The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 14.8%, the seventh consecutive months of price growth. The monthly change in London is 1.6%, bringing its average property value to £341,487, compared with the average for England and Wales, which stands at £165,596.
 
In London the borough of Kensington and Chelsea saw the highest annual price growth at 21.2% while Camden saw the highest monthly price growth at 3.3%. Newham saw the steepest annual price fall at 0.8% and Redbridge the highest monthly fall, down 0.4%.
 
The region with the smallest annual price rise is Yorkshire & The Humber with a movement of 0.7%.
 
The North East experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 3.1% while Yorkshire & The Humber is the region with the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -2.2%.
 
On a local basis Brighton and Hove saw the highest annual price growth at 16.8% while the greatest fall was in Middlesborough, down 9.5%.
 
The figures are consistent with other recent indices. The latest one from Nationwide showed a 1% month on month increase in prices and 10.5% annual growth. Halifax reported a 0.1% monthly growth and year on year growth of 8.8%.
 
But many now expect prices to struggle for the rest of the year. ‘Our view is that house prices will struggle to make significant gains over the coming months. The economic fundamentals, high unemployment, still falling employment, low earnings growth and looming tighter fiscal policy, are still far from robust and credit conditions remain tight,’ said Howard Archer, chief economist at IHS Global Insight.
 
‘There are also growing concerns that the Bank of England will have to raise interest rates before the end of the year due to higher than expected inflation,’ he added.