Mortgage News
Land Reg: House prices grow for first time in 2011
House prices across England and Wales grew above zero for the first time since January 2011 in April, by 0.8%, according to the Land Registry.
Its figures revealed that the modest increase was the largest growth seen since January 2010.
Despite the monthly increase, annual house price growth was still down 1.3%. However, the decline was smaller than that recorded in March.
The average property value in England and Wales is now £163,083.
The Land Registry figures showed that the number of property transactions over the last 12 months has fallen from an average of 54,479 sales per month in November 2009 to February 2010, to an average of 46,818 for the same period a year later.
Meanwhile, transaction volumes have remained relatively consistent over the past six months, with price volatility greater in regions where sales volumes are low.
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Mirroring other recent house price indices, regional house price differences were notably between the North and South.
London saw a monthly rise in house prices of 3%, taking the average property price in the capital to £352,187. By comparison, the North East recorded a monthly price fall of 1.7% in April.
London and the South East were the only regions to experience increases in their average property prices over the last 12 months. London had the highest annual price change, with an increase of 5%, while, again, the North East saw the greatest annual drop in prices at 8.1%.
The top end of the market proved strong in April, with the number of properties sold in England and Wales for more than £1m jumped 14% for the 12 months to February this year.
Million-pound properties sold in London increased 8% for the same period to 283.