Land Registry House Price Index: More evidence of rising house prices

29/08/13
News

Land Registry House Price IndexFigures released today by the Land Registry have provided more evidence that house prices are continuing to rise in most parts of the UK.

According to the Land Registry data, house prices rose by 1% in June, taking the value of the average home to £164,098.

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The figures also show the differences in house prices in England and Wales, with the cheapest house selling for £15,000, whilst the most expensive went for a massive £23.3 million.

Differences

Over the past 12 months, the Land Registry figures show house prices have risen by a modest 0.8%. However, the other two major surveys, from the Halifax and Nationwide, both large mortgage lenders, show far larger increases at 4.6% and 3.9% respectively.

Furthermore the lenders put the value of the average home at around £170,000, far higher than the Land Registry’s figure.

Despite anomalies between the different sets of data, it is clear that house prices in the UK are rising again, after a major slump at the end of the last decade. Experts believe the introduction of two key Government schemes, namely Funding for Lending and Help to Buy, have been the catalyst behind the recent rise in house prices. Although some experts are now concerned we could be heading for another housing bubble, with prices rising too far and too quickly.

As usual house prices in London have continued to rise at the fastest rate, increasing by 6.3% over the past year, whilst prices in Wales actually fell by 2.2% over the same period.

Falling repossessions

Reflecting the low interest rates most borrowers are now paying, the improved state of the economy and increased patience shown by many lenders, the Land Registry figures show the repossession rate fell again.

The number of repossessions in May 2013, the latest month for which figures are available, fell by 23% compared to the same time last year.