Land Registry House Price Index: House prices rise by 1% in January

01/03/13
News

Land Registry House Price Index for January 2013The latest Land Registry housing data shows house prices rose in January by 1%.

The figures also show a year on year rise of the same amount and a fall in the rate of repossessions; further evidence that the bottom of the housing market may have been reached.

According to the Land Registry, which is often thought to be the most accurate of all the house price surveys, because it looks at every house sale in England & Wales, the average home in the UK is now worth £162,441.

The Land Registry figures show a larger house price increase in January than either of the other two main surveys from the Halifax or the Nationwide; however the value of the average home given by all three surveys are remarkably similar, at around £162,000.

Wide variations

The Land Registry report always highlights the wide range of properties bought and sold over the past month, as well as regional variations.

In January the most expensive property was bought for £20.5 million, whilst the cheapest cost just £10,000.

Unsurprisingly London has seen the largest rise in property values over the past year with an increase of 7.1%. The largest fall was in the North West, where prices dropped by 4.2% over the past 12 months and by 1.9% during January.

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Repossessions

In further evidence that conditions in the housing market are easing, the number of repossessions in November 2012, the latest month for which figures are available, fell by 11% compared to the same month in 2011.

Only Wales saw an increase to the number of repossessions, showing a year on year increase of 21%.