Housing market slowing down
29/07/2014
The UK housing market finally appears to be slowing down as seven of the 10 regions in England and Wales recorded a month-on-month fall in house prices, according to the Land Registry.
However, despite price reductions in more than half of the regions in England and Wales, the overall average house price remained unchanged from May to June 2014.
The data showed that the biggest fall was in Yorkshire and Humber, as prices fell by 1.3% in June. In contrast, house prices in the Midlands helped to offset price falls in other regions, as they exhibited an increase of 1.9% for the month.
Annual house price comparisons have also begun to surface recently, showing the year-on-year change in prices from a point in time when the housing market was showing strong, consistent signs of recovery.
All regions in England and Wales have exhibited an increase in house prices over the last 12 months, however some areas have been staggeringly stronger than others. For example, London has show the strongest growth, as prices increased by 16.4% in the region, whereas prices in the North East only grew by 0.8% over the same time period.
Overall, the average property price across England and Wales was recorded at £172,011 at the end of June, which is still 6.4% higher than a year ago.
Confidence affected
Whilst there are a number of reasons for the market slow down, which include the summer being a historically quiet period for house sales, some have pointed to other potential causes.
For example, Jeremy Leaf from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said suggestions of a future rise in interest rates by the Bank of England may have affected consumer buying confidence.
However, despite this, he said that there are still people looking to buy, so the market should continue to steadily grow in the long term.
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