House prices have risen across all regions in England and Wales to stand at an average £237,161 – a new record high, the LSL/Acadametrics survey has claimed, ahead of tonight's Panorama programme looking at the question of a house price bubble.
The survey claims that house prices have risen by an average of 4.3% in the last year, and were 0.6% up in October compared with September.
It also claims that in October, there were the most transactions since 2007.
The price quoted by the survey is far higher than the Land Registry’s latest house price (for September) covering England and Wales, which is £167,063.
Instead, the survey, which claims a high degree of accuracy, is much closer to Rightmove’s latest asking price figure of £252,418.
The LSL/Acadametrics survey also says that prices in all regions in England and Wales have risen, for the first time in three years.
David Newnes, director of LSL, said the recovery was “astonishing”.
He said: “There has been a tremendous jump in transactions over the past three months – with the most sales recorded in an October since the onset of the crisis.
“Key to such a surge in activity is the renewed level of confidence seeping back into the market and a plethora of attractive mortgage deals enticing more and more aspiring buyers back into the housing arena.
“For the first time in nearly three years, all ten regions in England and Wales have seen an increase in prices – an astonishing recovery, and one that we can now say is truly national.
“Even earlier this year, many regions were still struggling to escape from the resilient grasp of the financial crisis. But in little over six months we’ve seen a drastic improvement in the availability of mortgages and increased lending by the banks to those at the lower end of the spectrum.
“The increase in demand, in part fuelled by the second phase of Help to Buy having being brought forward, has driven up average house prices across the country by £1,376 over the past month and £9,776 from a year ago.
“But despite significant rises, the increased availability and competitiveness of mortgages has also opened the door to a new wave of aspiring buyers who had previously been persistently locked out. The stark rise in first-time buyer activity in particular has given the speed of recovery an even greater uplift.
“Up and down the country, regions are benefiting from the resurgence and experiencing new levels of activity. Up by 26%, East Anglia has seen the greatest boost in sales, but even the region with the lowest rise in transactions, the West Midlands, falls only shortly behind, rising by 22%.
“In the face of rises sweeping across the nation, we must ensure that the market doesn’t soar out of reach for those at the bottom of the ladder.”
* Halifax last week reported that average house prices across the UK are 6.9% higher than a year ago.
Its report, covering October, said the average house price is now £171,991, up 0.7% on September – and far lower than the LSL/Acadametrics price.
Halifax economist Martin Ellis was also much more downbeat. He said: “Despite increases in the past year, both house prices and sales remain below the levels reached at the height of the last housing market cycle.”
.png)
.png)
Comments
LSL/Acadametrics' website includes a list of their clients who they produce data for - Nationwide, Barclays, Northern Rock, Britannia Building Society, Yorkshire Building Society and other similar companies. No vested interests in high house prices there then...
Welcome back twit1234, need bigger numbers now mate, now you missed the boat, you should have bought in 2008, how much has your rent gone up that you poor down the drain and end up owning, er, nothing!?
Thank you for keeping paying my pension, looking gooooood !
A wise man once said 'Statistics are like a lamp post to a drunken man. More for leaning on than Illumination'.
It would seem and not just from here, tho there was an article from RM sensationalising current house prices, that no one agrees.
I agree with Happy Chappy, FTB's of which there is a sizeable number of, being priced out.
Perhaps you shouldn't take the instructions on at stupid asking prices then or better still don't give stupidly high market appraisals (waits for the "its not me its my competitors that do that" response)
Where i live asking prices are at record high levels sold prices aret be pretty high too. A significant number of young (under 30) ftb'ers in the area are priced out and In these condistions transaction levels will continue to be lower for EA's
What does come onto the market at the lower end are snapped up by BTL investors and/or foreign owners then let back to the locals on housing benefit. This costs the governemnet/tax payer a small fortune. If prices were at affordable levels many of these same people would buy and not via some scam HTB scheme.
Perhaps a massive social building program would deflate the bubble that doesnt exist and be a better way of spending tax payers money?. These social affordable houses could sold let and managed by EA's ad LA's (thought you might like that bit) However, the yield would find its way back to the government to re-invest rather than the pockets of landlords.
The Government can't afford it! Well how about £18billioon for HS2. How many houses would that build?
But there isnt the land though is there? Rubbish there is plenty of land in fact in the UK 592,800 acres in owned by the defence estates (1% of the UK land mass) they could use some of this. Or even the land banked by the developers, the government could compulsory purchase it. They can do this to individuals who already live homes on the HS2 pathway why not the big building companies?
I have always mistrusted statistics on anything and most people tend to treat them with a pinch of salt. However, where the property market is concerned, most people, particularly prospective vendors, treat them as gospel when the trend is upwards, particularly when the "facts" are emblazoned across the front of the Daily Express and other worthy publications.!
Certainly in the smaller towns and more rural areas of the South West, the autumn market has been as mediocre as the weather.
Reports such as this do nothing to help our efforts to persuade existing vendors to reduce to a realistic asking price, while the expectations of new vendors soar to ever more unrealistic heights.
I'm sure I can't be alone in this assessment. (I bloody well hope not anyway)!!
This sort of news only pushes prices yet higher as it feeds vendors aspirations and makes many hold off waiting for more and more money and increasing the shortage of stock.
The key is in transaction levels in proving true recovery
2006 again, tick, tick, tick, pop!!!!
Yet another sensationalised report using asking prices instead of sold prices.
Yawn.
What nonsense, another Londoncentric report??!!
We are the dominant agent in our area, and granted the last 3 months have seen improvement but we are still only running at about 30% of the transactions we did in 2007.
A longs ways to go yet.
And as for a bubble? Don't make me laugh.
Apparently one can make it up!