Land Registry: House prices down 0.4% in March

The average price of a property in England and Wales fell by 0.4 per cent during March, according to the latest figures from the Land Registry.

This monthly fall sees annual growth slip to 3.6 per cent, down from 5.3 per cent in February.

Monthly growth was, however, negative in six of the ten regions in England and Wales.

Prices fell 2.2 per cent in Wales during March, followed by the East Midlands (2.1 per cent), the south-east (1.6 per cent) and Yorkshire & the Humber (1.1 per cent).

Growth of 0.1 per cent was recorded in the south-west, slightly behind the north-west and north-east which recorded growth of 0.8 and 2.4 per cent respectively.

The national annual growth can be attributed to a 4.1 per cent increase in the cost of flats, along with a 3.6 per cent increase in semi-detached properties.

Detached properties and terraced homes both saw prices increase by an average of 3.1 per cent over the last year.

The average property now costs £184,798 according to the figures.

London continues to outperform the rest of the country.

Prices in the capital increased by 0.6 per cent in March, with annual growth still at 10.5 per cent, well clear of any other region.

The Land Registry also finds sales volumes have continued to decline – a clear indication of a depressed market.

In the months October 2007 to January 2008, transaction volumes averaged 81,926 a month. This represents a 26 per cent decrease from the same period last year when sales volumes averaged 109,969 per month.

Chris O'Toole