Average house price hits £200,000
Regions across England and Wales saw a rise in average property prices between April and June
Also In The News
|
Mark Lewis-Francis and Dwain Chambers both made it through to the semi-finals of the men's 100m but showed contrasting form in the process. |  |
Tuesday, 08, Aug 2006 09:37
House prices in England and Wales rose by 7.71 per cent year-on-year- during the second quarter, reaching an average of almost £200,000, according to official figures released today.
The price of an average home increased to £199,184 between April and June, up from £184,924 for the same period in 2005, the Land Registry said.
All regions in England and Wales reported a rise in average property prices, with the north recording the largest increases.
Although the region remains the cheapest place in the UK to purchase a property, the average cost of a house in the north of England climbed by 11.14 per cent year-on-year, up from £124,055 between April and June last year to £137,861 for the same period in 2006.
House price inflation was also strong in the north-west, up 11.05 per cent to £146,601, while Yorkshire and Humber saw property prices rise 10.13 per cent to an average of £147,230.
In the key London market, property prices rose by 8.29 per cent to £317,679, while the smallest increases were reported in East Anglia, where house prices rose by four per cent to £181,925 and in the East Midlands, which reported a rise of 4.4 per cent to £156,243.
Terraced houses reported the largest increase in value over the second quarter, up 10.44 per cent from £143,512 in 2005 to £158,493. The average cost of a detached home rose by 5.12 per cent from £285,697 to £300,349.
House sales across England and Wales also jumped by 23.76 per cent over the year, with 268,430 properties sold between April and June, compared to 216,890 homes during the second quarter of 2005.
In greater London, sales rose by 26.7 per cent from 26,249 to 33,254.
The number of homes sold in the capital worth over £1 million was also up from 454 in the second quarter of 2005 to 795 for the same period this year. Across England and Wales some 1,246 properties worth more than £1 million were sold during the spring and early summer months, compared to 718 between April and June 2005.
The Land Registry's figures reflect recent surveys carried out by mortgage lenders Halifax and Nationwide and suggest that the UK housing market is continuing to experience a recovery.
However analysts predict that last week's decision by the Bank of England to raise interest rates to 4.75 per cent could dampen demand in the housing market and depress prices.
But responding to the Land Registry's statistics, Milan Khatri, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), said the figures proved the housing market was in a "firm state and well placed to shrug off" last week's rate rise.
He added that the Bank of England's move to raise the base rate of interest was a "welcome move to forestall future inflation pressures in the economy" and was "the best means of avoiding a scenario of the early 1990s when high and rising inflation contributed to a hard-landing for the housing market".