Key Points
- 2003 is definitely the 'Year of the North'. On an annual basis, house price gains in the North (38%), Yorkshire and the Humber (32%), and Wales (32%) have significantly outstripped those recorded in the south of England. In the south, house price gains over the last year have been: Greater London (9%), the South West (12%), the South East (12%) and East Anglia (16%).
- Prices in Greater London increased by 2.1% in the third quarter, more than reversing the 0.7% fall in the second quarter. Despite this rise, annual house price inflation in Greater London continues to slow, falling to 8.6% from 11.5% in the second quarter. The capital remains at the bottom of the regional annual house price growth table with annual house price inflation below 10% for the first time since Quarter 1, 2001.
- North of the border in Scotland, strong price rises over the last six months have caused the annual rate of house price inflation to more than double in the last year, from 7% in 2002 Quarter 3 to 20%.
- The annual rate of house price inflation is likely to fall from its current rate of 18.6% over the next two months, as prices will probably rise more slowly than last autumn when record monthly increases were registered.
