House prices in England and Wales continue to rise, albeit at a slowing rate, according to the latest house price index from LSL Property Services and Acadata.
In March 2015, the average price paid for a home was £275,123. This was an increase of £519, or 0.2% over February and approximately 15% or £35,287 higher than the £239,836 seen at the peak of the previous boom in February 2008.
On an annual basis, house price growth in March was 5.6%, with the average price of a home being £14,620 higher than a year earlier.
However, the annual rate of house price growth has been slowing over the last six months. The decline in the annual rate of house price growth is being experienced across nine of the 10 regions in England & Wales; the report writers say this suggests that the slowdown in London prices is rippling out across the remainder of the country, but is more pronounced in the southernmost regions of the country.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, said: “Property prices in England and Wales continue to hit new heights, yet the cogs of the machinery are flagging to the most laboured pace we’ve witnessed for 16 months. Slowing to 5.6% in March 2015, annual house price growth has now been waning for half a year, and hasn’t been this sluggish since November 2013. But with homes on average worth £14,620 more than a year ago, it’s a far cry from anything worth lamenting from a bird’s eye view – even if people on the ground might feel somewhat differently. While price inflation simply isn’t as rapid as it was, the stamina is still strong, and prices edged forward another 0.2% in March.
“While house prices might still be on the up, sales appear to be treading water. Completed home sales in March 2015 totalled 72,200 – on the surface, this marks a strong 11.6% increase on February, but delving a little deeper reveals this is only half the uplift we would usually expect for the market at this typically animated time of year. Taking Q1 2015 as a whole, we’ve seen 5% fewer completed home sales than in the first quarter of last year.
“But this is far from a typical year. With the General Election tightening its tempo every week up until May 7th, cautious buyers are holding back to wait and see which way the chips fall. Property regulation is a hot topic in one of the most uncertain UK elections in a generation: no one wants to have the rug pulled from under their feet before they’ve made it through the front door.”