The May data from Land Registry’s House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 6.7%.
This takes the average property value in England and Wales to £172,035. The monthly change from April to May shows an increase of 0.4%. Repossession volumes decreased by 37% in March 2014 to 987 compared with 1,560 in March 2013.
The region in England and Wales which experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 18.5%. London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 2.5%.
North East saw the lowest annual price growth with a movement of 0.9%. Yorkshire & The Humber saw the most significant monthly price fall of 0.9%.
The most up-to-date figures available show that during March 2014 the number of completed house sales in England & Wales increased by 16% to 63,587 compared with 54,708 in March 2013.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in March 2014 increased by 28% to 840 from 657 in March 2013.
The region with the greatest fall in repossession sales in March 2014 was the East Midlands.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau (MAB), said: “The latest Land Registry data again shows London house prices far ahead of the curve, with no other region across England and Wales even approaching double-digit growth. The fact that exactly half have recorded a monthly fall in the average house price shows that property values remain safely under control across much of the country.
“Prices appear stable across much of the Midlands and the North, which will give renewed hope to first time buyers that buying property is still a realistic ambition. Many of the sales using Help to Buy equity loans and mortgage guarantees have been focused in these regions, allowing better access to mortgage finance without pushing house prices further out of reach.
“London remains a unique case in need of special measures and Londoners will be the first to see the effect of moves by the Bank of England to ration high loan to income (LTI) mortgages – unless, of course, they are among the cash buyers, foreign owners and buy-to-let landlords who do not rely on mortgage finance but are still a major influence on rising prices.
“It is encouraging that the Bank is still willing to allow a limited supply of high LTI mortgages, which are needed in some circumstances and are safely covered by rigorous affordability checks. To balance the equation, we now need to remove the shackles from builders and developers so that housing supply can catch up.”