Land Registry: House prices slip 0.2% in April
Friday, 30 May 2008 12:00 AM
Further fuel to the house price crash fire was provided today by the latest statistics from the Land Registry.
The government body finds average house prices in England and Wales slipped 0.2 per cent in April, following a 0.4 per cent fall in March.
While the falls are relatively modest, annual house price growth has been dragged down to just 2.7 per cent.
This shows a continued deterioration from the price levels of 3.6 per cent recorded in March and 5.3 per cent in February, and is the eighth consecutive fall in the annual rate of growth.
The average house price in England and Wales stands at £183,626, which is a £1,172 decrease from last month's figure of £184,798.
The situation was particularly dire in London.
Annual average house price growth in the capital fell to 6.8 per cent in April, down from 10.5 recorded the previous month.
London's monthly price change saw prices dip 0.5 per cent for April, which is a more volatile movement than the 0.2 per cent fall experienced by England and Wales as a whole.
The average property in London now costs homebuyers £350,925 - some £167,299 more than the national average.
The south-east and east followed London, with annual average price growth of 4.3 and 3.4 per cent respectively.
Across the country, three regions are now experiencing year-on-year price falls.
Wales saw the largest dip with house prices down 1.4 per cent since April 2007, with the East Midlands and West Midlands seeing prices fall 0.9 and 0.1 per cent respectively.
The cheapest properties are available to buyers in Wales, where the average cost is now £137,045.
Finally, transaction levels have also continued to decrease.
In the months of November 2007 to February 2008, transaction volumes averaged 72,479 transactions per month. This is a decrease from the same period last year, when sales volumes averaged 103,141.
Chris O'Toole
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