FT: House prices up 0.1%

Property prices in the England and Wales property market increased by 0.1 per cent during January, according to the latest House Price Index from the Financial Times.

The findings are the third consecutive month of virtually stagnant house price growth, and the worst quarterly results since the slowdown in 2005.

As a result of the modest increase, annual growth fell to 6.5 per cent in January – down from 7.6 per cent in December, and the lowest rate since July 2006.

"As our national index summary indicates, the market has been slowing on a monthly and annual basis since August, reinforcing the view this has very definitely been a year of two halves with the second half seeing house prices steadily slipping away," said Dr Peter Williams, chairman of Acadametrics, which carried out the research for the FT.

London continued to outperform the rest of England and Wales, recording average growth of 14.6 per cent over the previous three months, some six per cent ahead of the next region.

Without the London growth, annual average house price increased would have stood at a relatively modest five per cent.

Outside of the capital the south-east, 8.2 per cent, and the south-west, 7.5 per cent, both performed well.

However, over half of the regions of England and Wales saw annual growth slip below five per cent.

"With continued weakening in consumer confidence and the extensive negative commentary on market prospects in 2008, we continue to expect this downward trend to continue even though the fundamentals of demand and supply, employment and interest rates remain favourable," continued Mr Williams.

"Given the significance of London in terms of impact on the market as a whole and especially in the south, the weakening in the capital’s housing market is notable albeit from a very high base."

While the data suggests the property market is slowing, and moderation must be put into the context of a trebling of house prices since 1997, argues the FT.