Welcome to the December 2019 Property Surveying market fact file – a round-up of the latest property market news, collating survey data, statistics, trends and information about the property market. (All figures below are the most recently available data.)
UK House Price Index
Data source: Land Registry
UK average house price = £232,944, -0.7% change in the month, 0.7% up in the year. Monthly index (where January 2015 = 100) is 122.2
The lowest annual house price growth in October was in London, where prices fell by -1.6% over the year. House price growth was slowest to the third quarter in England, at 0.5%, and highest over the year in Northern Ireland at 4.0%, followed by Wales at 3.3% and Scotland at 1.4%.
Halifax
UK average house price = £234,625, up 1.0% in the month, up 0.2% in the quarter, 2.1% in the year.
November figures reflected the biggest rise in house prices since February, after two months of slight falls. Since the beginning of the year house prices have risen on average £3,904, buoyed up by a limited supply of houses. Supply and mortgage affordability are expected to support modest gains are anticipated in 2020.
England and Wales average house asking price = £302,808, down -1.3% in the month up 0.3% in the year.
House price drops are normal at this time of year but, with average prices dropping -£3,904 this month, buyers are expected to take advantage of winter bargains. Compared to a year ago, the number of new sellers in the same period has fallen by near 15%, resulting in the biggest year-on-year slump since August 2009.
However, sales of larger properties (detached four bedrooms or all larger properties) have been stronger than other sectors, with the number of agreed sales at -1.4% less than 2018, opposed to the average decrease in property value -2.9%.
UK average house price = £215,734, 0.5% change in the month and 0.8% increase in the year.
November recorded a marginal rise in house price growth, at less than 1% for the twelfth consecutive month but the strongest since April.
LSL / Acadata
Average England and Wales house price = £300,556, 0.3% change in the month, down -0.5% in the year.
November recorded the ninth month this calendar year in which the annual rate of house price growth was negative, although it was the second month in a row in which house prices have been positive. The housing market appears resilient despite ongoing political uncertainty, with steady growth in first time buyer mortgages and increased gross mortgage lending.
HM Revenue & Customs
The provisional number of UK residential property transaction completions (over £40,000) for October 2019 was 103,680, representing an increase of 4.3% between September-October 2019, and the seasonally adjusted figure is 4.3% higher than October 2018.
The number of non-residential property transactions increased by 13.6% between September-October 2019, and 4.8% higher than October 2018.
Land Registry Price Paid Data
Overall 95,307 residential sales were received for registration in October. The most expensive residential property sale was in Merton, London, which sold for £9,000,000. There were 591 residential property sales valued at £1m or more in England and Wales, 347 of which were in Greater London.
The cheapest residential sale was a property in Sunderland, which sold for £15,000.
Newly built property sales decreased by -3.8% compared to October 2018.
REGIONAL HOUSE PRICES
| UK HPI Regional figures (all percentages are positive unless indicated otherwise) | |||
| October 2019 | Average price GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| England | £248,939 | -0.7% | 0.5% |
| Northern Ireland (Quarter 3 – 2019) | £139,951 | 2.3% | 4.0% |
| Scotland | £153,692 | -0.9% | 1.4% |
| Wales | £166,245 | 0.7% | 3.3% |
| East Midlands | £194,134 | -0.7% | 1.3% |
| East of England | £293,928 | -0.1% | 0.3% |
| London | £472,232 | -1.7% | -1.6% |
| North East | £129,360 | -2.3% | -1.1% |
| North West | £166,134 | -0.6% | 1.4% |
| South East | £323,438 | -0.8% | -0.3% |
| South West | £258,372 | -0.8% | 0.6% |
| West Midlands | £198,345 | -1.6% | 0.2% |
| Yorkshire and The Humber | £166,904 | 0.9% | 3.2% |
UK HPI Average monthly price by property type
| Property type | October 2019 GBP | October 2018 GBP | Difference |
|---|---|---|---|
| Detached | £356,046 | £351,859 | 1.2% |
| Semi-detached | £223,873 | £218,698 | 2.4% |
| Terraced | £188,983 | £186,499 | 1.3% |
| Flat or maisonette | £200,007 | £205,987 | -2.9% |
| All | £232,944 | £231,211 | 0.7% |
Rightmove regional figures
| October 2019 | Average price GBP | Monthly change % | Annual change % |
| Greater London | £609,506 | -1.4% | -0.8% |
| South East | £395,027 | -2.4% | -0.7% |
| South West | £302,440 | -2.6% | 0.1% |
| East of England | £346,981 | -1.2% | -1.1% |
| West Midlands | £226,930 | -1.3% | 1.4% |
| East Midlands | £228,919 | 0.3% | 2.2% |
| North West | £197,329 | -2.0% | 2.5% |
| Wales | £194,972 | -2.4% | 1.3% |
| Yorkshire & Humberside | £192,808 | -1.3% | 3.1% |
| North East | £148,675 | -1.3% | 0.0% |
Nationwide regional figures
| Q3: 3 months to September 2019 | Average Price (£) GBP | Annual % change (this quarter) | Annual % change (previous quarter) |
| N Ireland | £144,053 | 3.4% | 5.2% |
| North West | 166,597 | 2.5% | 1.2% |
| East Midlands | £187,212 | 0.4% | 2.0% |
| West Midlands | £194,549 | 2.1% | 2.6% |
| Scotland | £150,410 | 0.8% | 0.4% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £160,432 | 0.1% | 3.0% |
| East Anglia | £232,587 | 1.7% | 1.4% |
| Wales | £159,355 | 2.9% | 4.2% |
| North | £127,570 | 2.0% | 1.8% |
| South West | £246,658 | 0.5% | 1.1% |
| Outer South East | £278,134 | -0.6% | -1.6% |
| Outer Met | £358,833 | -1.5% | -1.8% |
| London | £460,686 | -1.7% | -0.7% |
| UK | £216,805 | 0.3% | 0.6% |
| LSL Acadata Regional Data – October 2019 | Average House Price £ GBP | Monthly % change | Annual % Change |
| Greater London | £602,663 | 0.7% | 0.1% |
| South East | £371,805 | -0.4% | -1.4% |
| South West | £292,017 | 0.6% | 0.6% |
| East of England | £325,919 | -0.5% | -1.6% |
| West Midlands | £227,163 | 0.2% | -0.4% |
| East Midlands | £219,838 | 0.4% | 0.3% |
| North West | £197,245 | 0.5% | 1.9% |
| Wales | £189,190 | 0.1% | 2.1% |
| Yorkshire & Humber | £193,387 | -0.1% | 0.7% |
| North East | £163,084 | 0.4% | 1.5% |
Focus on London -Â Best and Worst (-) annual performers according to:
| Rightmove November 2019 | Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Tower Hamlets | £592,389 | 3.8% | 3.5% |
| Southwark | £659,973 | 0.9% | 1.6% |
| Kingston upon Thames | £579,250 | -1.5% | -5.9% |
| Richmond upon Thames | £802,240 | -1.7% | -6.1% |
| LCL Acadata September 2019 | Average Price (£) GBP | Monthly change | Annual change |
| Hackney | £698,133 | -2.2% | 15.8% |
| Tower Hamlets | £546,753 | -0.2% | 6.0% |
| Hammersmith & Fulham | £838,756 | -4.7% | -14.9% |
| Southwark | £593,955 | 0.8% | -18.9% |
RICS Survey Overview
The RICS Residential Market Survey for November 2019 reported falling numbers of home buyer enquiries and new property sales instructions, although the level of decline is easing. Expectations within the property sales market are modestly positive for the next three months, but surveyors anticipate that house prices will return to growth over the forthcoming year.
In the lettings market, fresh rental stock is in decline and there was a -29% faill in landlord instructions in November. Tenants demand remains steady and a modest rise in rents is expected in the next three months, possibly rising to 2% in twelve months’ time.
Rightmove.co.uk is the UK’s leading property website, displaying details of homes for sale or rent to the largest online audience. It is consistently ranked the number one property website in the UK (source: Experian Hitwise). It has around 90% of all properties for sale and at any time displays a stock of over one million properties to buy or rent, worth around £270 billion. The Rightmove.co.uk site attracts over 130 million visits from home movers each month with time on site averaging over one billion minutes per month (Rightmove data, 2017).
LSL Acad E&W HPI is derived from Land Registry (LR) house price data, seasonally and mix adjusted by property type. © Crown copyright material reproduced with the permission of Land Registry. The prices are smoothed to show underlying trends. LSL Acad E&W HPI includes cash purchase prices and is the only index based upon the complete, factual house price data for England & Wales, as opposed to a sample.
UK HPI: Monthly house price inflation, calculated using data from Land Registry, Registers of Scotland and Land and Property Services Northern Ireland. This replaces the previous House Price Indices separately published by Office of National Statistics and Land Registry.
All figures within this article are correct at the time of going to press, and are reproduced in good faith. No responsibility will be taken for any decisions taken based on the information contained herein. Always seek professional advice.
Next Monthly Market Fact File due in January.
Back to December 2019 Newsletter
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