Market monitor shows signs for optimism in some parts of UK

Home, the property platform that often produces downbeat market forecasts, now says there are signs of improvement in London at least. 

It says caution on the part of vendors has cut the supply of new instructions by nearly a quarter allowing what it calls “a timely realignment of supply and demand” preparing the road to recovery after more than three years of sliding prices.

Typical Time on Market has improved in the capital and there has been a reduction of total stock for sale of around 19 per cent.

However, Home warns that the adjacent regions of the East and South East “remain firmly in the grip of their respective price corrections” although the South West is already showing some signs of recovery.

Of all the regions under review by the platform, only Wales has achieved growth ahead of inflation during the last 12 months, but the housing market in the region is now slowing down. 

Overall, annualised price growth across England and Wales is down: In July 2018, the annualised rate of increase of home prices was 1.3 per cent for England and Wales; today the same measure is -0.4 per cent.

Other key indicators are:

- Supply of new instructions down in ALL regions, most severely in London (23 per cent), as potential vendors hold back;

- Typical Time on Market for England and Wales is currently 91 days which is 11 days longer than in July 2018, making it the slowest July since 2013;

- Asking prices rose again in all English regions (except the West Midlands where there was no change), Wales and Scotland over the last month, driven mainly by aspiration and tightening supply but not increasing demand;

- East of England is the UK's worst-performing region, with the average asking price down by 3.1 per cent over the last year;

- Total stock levels across England and Wales remain broadly stable.