Homes market remains strong

UK PROPERTY prices held up well in late summer, according to the latest Government figures. The study conflicts with surveys from estate agents and lenders, some of which suggest prices have been falling for nearly half a year.

Property price inflation in September was 13.8%, up from 13.6% in August, the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister said. However, prices month-on-month fell slightly from £179,486 to £179,201. The department warns this comparison does not take into account seasonal swings in demand.

A survey from the National Association of Estate Agents said values fell 1.6% in September, the fourth month of decreasing prices. lender Halifax said prices fell 1.1% in October while Nationwide put the figure at 0.4%.

The ODPM survey, based on information on completions from around 50 mortgage lenders, was launched two years ago in an attempt to give a more definitive overview of the property market. The data has been criticsed as being older than that from other surveys.

For September, the ODPM said the annual rate of inflation was highest in Wales at 25.5% down from 27.6% a month earlier. In England the figure was unchanged at 12.9% and in Scotland it rose from 20.2% to 21.9%. Northern Ireland saw demand reignite with prices up 13.3% compared with 10.9% before.

Regionally, the market picked up in the North East, North West, East Midlands, London and the South West. The inflation rate for first time buyers nationally remained unchanged at 15.6%.

Meanwhile, figures from the Land Registry, which are based on property deeds, revealed Wales had the highest average price increase for the second quarter in a row. The Isle of Anglesey headed the list with a 49% increase on a year earlier followed by Blaenau Gwent, Carmarthenshire and Caerphilly. Seven out of the top ten highest average price rises were in Wales.

The highest property price rise in England was Blackburn where prices in Darwen increased 40%. Windsor and Eton in Berkshire saw the lowest increase of just 5%.

The number sales in excess of £1m rose 40% year on year to 1,230. In London, the figure was up 115%, rising from 338 to 727.

The good news for house owners hoping to trade up the property ladder was that nationally, smaller homes saw a larger rise in value than larger properties.

The average price of a terraced house rose 19% to £143,771 while detached properties saw only a 13% increase to £284,154. This goes against a long-term trend identified by Halifax. It recently published figures suggesting that the gap between these types of buildings had dramatically increased over the past decade.

Annual price rises to September

Source: Land Registry (November)