Land Registry and Nationwide agree - UK house prices dipping

Land Registry house price data has shown a 0.5 per cent drop in March, taking annual house price inflation to 6.7 per cent - despite a small increase in the number of property transactions has increased over the last year.

In the quarter from October 2015 to January 2016 there was an average of 74,744 sales per month - just above the average during the same quarter a year earlier. 

The March data for London showed a monthly increase of 0.2 per cent meaning prices in the capital have risen a considerable 13.9 per cent. The average price of property in the capital is £534,785 in comparison with the average for England and Wales of £189,901.

Meanwhile the latest Nationwide index - compiled of course from mortgage data - says house prices increased 0.2 per cent in April, although that in turn has slowed the building society index annual house price growth to 4.9 per cent.

The Nationwide says the average house price in the UK is now £202,436.

“This slowdown returns the annual pace of house price growth to the fairly narrow range between three and five per cent that had been prevailing since the summer of 2015” says Nationwide’s chief economist, Robeert Gardner.

“It may be that the surge in house purchase activity resulting from the increase in stamp duty on second homes from Apri 1 provided a temporary boost to prices. However, it’s possible the recent pattern of strong employment growth, rising real earnings, low borrowing costs and constrained supply will tilt the demand/supply balance in favour of sellers and exert upward pressure on prices once again in the quarters ahead” he predicts.