Forward projections, based on Rightmove’s ‘real time’ house asking price statistics, predict the Land Registry will report average house prices rising to £154,000 - up 5.4% on the £146,150 reported for the third quarter of 2002, and 29.6% higher than Q4 2001.
Commenting on the prediction, Ed Williams, managing director of Rightmove, said: “By monitoring asking prices, we can obtain forward estimates for house prices achieved on completion - typically confirmed 3 months after the house is placed on the market. It is on these completion prices that the Land Registry index is based. Due to asking price increases slowing over the last two months, Land Registry house prices are likely to level off over the next 3 months. We therefore predict that Land Registry house prices for Q1 2003 will remain at £154,000, which the Land Registry is likely to report in May 2003.”
