According to the company there is evidence that price changes are evening out across the country: the North has seen more widespread price falls, whereas the South East, which last month saw falls of –0.4%, is this month seeing falls of only –0.1%. National house prices have been bumping along the bottom since the beginning of the year, with the overall cumulative change being 0.0% since December.
Overall, 23 counties reported price falls. The counties seeing the highest price falls over the past month were Wiltshire, Surrey (both -0.3%), West Sussex (-0.2%), West Midlands and Oxfordshire (both -0.1%). Meanwhile, 18 counties reported moderate price rises. The highest rises occurred in Cumbria (0.5%), East Riding of Yorkshire, Mid Wales (both 0.3%), Merseyside and North Wales (both 0.2%). Sixteen counties reported no price changes.
The average house price of the ten counties with the highest price rises is £91,530 whereas the average house price of the ten counties with the highest price falls is £178,030. The average house price for the country as a whole is unchanged at £135,200.
House price falls have persisted in the South East and Greater London, areas which saw the largest rises during the boom of 2002. In the southern half of the country, only three counties reported positive house price inflation over the month. However, price falls in the south have lessened as price rises in the North have reduced. In the northern half of the country, stagnation is now widespread with eight counties seeing no change in house prices, and four reporting price falls.
John Wriglesworth, hometrack’s housing economist, commented: “The national housing market has seen little activity for the past six months now and prices are bumping along the bottom. The South has seen price falls decline and the North has seen price rises decrease – house price stagnation is now more prevalent. As hometrack predicted, the market has truly bottomed out. Activity levels are slowly increasing but demand is still not matching supply. The market is certainly looking more positive, but it will need a kick start to help it out of the doldrums. Lower bank base rates will not succeed in this as there is little potential for more cuts in mortgage rates. The Government should seriously consider reducing the inequitable Stamp Duty tax.”
