Prices stagnate but there are big regional differences says Your Move

Prices have dropped 0.5 per cent in the past year according to LSL Property Services, the parent company of Your Move and Reeds Rains.

The average value of a home in England and Wales is now £302,435. 

“It’s a mixed picture with some regions still experiencing price rises; there clearly continues to be demand for property and a need for more homes to come to market” according to Oliver Blake, managing director.

He says that given the challenges of affordability from a decade of rising prices and sluggish wage growth, “a short slowdown in prices combined with increases in pay could be a positive outcome for the market in the long term.”

The data from the agencies suggest a distinct North/South divide with Wales in particular still growing robustly, up three per cent annually, and most big cities outside London seeing growth led by Cardiff up up 5.3 per cent. 

The South East region is seeing the fastest falls in prices, with the average house values down 1.7 per cent. However, in the South West Bath and North East Somerset prices are down a hefty 10.2 per cent and North Somerset is down 5.4 per cent. 

In London, prices have risen for the last five months, leaving the average price in the capital at £622,494.

In England, the North West sees the strong growth with average prices up 1.3 per cent annually. This is supported by strong performance in Manchester, which set a new peak average price in the month and where values have increased 3.1 per cent in the last year.

The strongest performing region by far, however, remains Wales, where growth of 3.0 per cent remains comfortably ahead of inflation.