Average house prices in the UK increased by 3.1% in the 12 months to July 2018, down slightly from 3.2% in the year to June 2018, the latest official data shows.
They also increased by 1.2% month on month with the figures from the Land Registry showing that the average price reached £231,422.
The largest annual price growth was recorded in Wales, where house prices increased by 4.2% year on year, followed by a rise of 3.2% in Scotland and 3% in England. In Northern Ireland prices increased by 4.4% over the year to the end of June 2018.
In England house prices grew fastest in the North West region, increasing by 5.6% year on year, followed by the South West and the West Midlands, both increasing by 4.4% over the year.
Month on month prices increased the most in Scotland with a rise of 1.4%, followed by a rise of 1.2% in England. But prices fell month on month by 0.2% in Wales and in Northern Ireland by 1%.
But prices fell in London by 0.7% on an annual basis, but they increased month on month by 0.6%, the index also shows.
Sales are down substantially in May 2018 compared with the same month in 2017. The index shows that transactions fell by 16.1% in England, by 14.4% in Wales, by 13% in Northern Ireland and by 6.3% in Scotland.
According to Nick Leeming, chairman of Jackson-Stops, the small month on month price dips felt across the breadth of the UK are not significant. He pointed out that the North West and its major cities of Manchester, Liverpool and Chester, saw prices rise by more than 5% year on year.
‘With the average house price in the North West over £70,000 cheaper than that across England as a whole, it is not surprising to see prices rising in the North as more buyers turn their attention to its property stock,’ he said.
‘As demand grows, we may well see prices at the lower to middle end of the market continue increasing in the region for the rest of the year. However we must be mindful that these figures may not reflect the top end of the market, where, in areas such as Alderley Edge and Hale, prices may have peaked due to the level of stamp duty payable,’ he added.
Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer of online estate agents Housesimple, believes that the figures confirm that the North-South divide has been turned on its head. ‘While property prices in the north have a spring in their step, driven by inward investment, thriving regional business hubs and a buoyant jobs market, London price growth is in reverse,’ he said.
‘London is firmly a buyers’ market at the moment with heavy price discounting the norm. There is a new reality in the capital that sellers are having to come to terms with. Prices are down on last year, and sellers have found it difficult to adjust to these price adjustments. Having enjoyed strong price growth for a decade it’s easy to become complacent and assume this upward trajectory will continue unabated,’ he explained.
‘Many of the transactions going through at the moment are down to sellers accepting offers a fair bit below the asking price. Sellers and agents need to adjust their price expectations if they want to attract buyers,’ he concluded.
