The report highlighted that excluding London, values across the UK gained 8% bringing the average price to £185,347.
In the capital, prices gained 2% year-on-year. On the month they remain flat at £456,295. Prices are up by 17% on average over the year despite a cooling off towards the end of the year.
Transactions for property have dropped by 9% against last years figures and 23% on the month. The large drop in transactions is a seasonal dip that has been magnified by heightened activity at the start of the year.
Mortgage Demand
The mortgage market has seen a significant cooling off in the later part of the year, predominantly due to affordability issues in certain areas, such as London, and the introduction of MMR. This month mortgage applications fell by 15% annually and 5% annually for first time buyers.
Buyer Activity
The number of viewings across the UK dropped 7% annually, while the number of offers dropped by 6%. As a result the ratio of viewings to offers fell marginally to 7.3/1 viewings to every offer, from 7.4/1 last year.
David Plumtree, Chief Executive at Sequence, comments: “London property owners have had an excellent year, with prices rising on average by £77,570 however a cooling market will not deliver the same returns this year. We are now seeing a rebalance of supply and demand, which has lead the number of buyers registering per new instruction to drop from 15/1 at its peak to 8/1 in September.
The UK housing market has proved to be exceptionally resilient in 2014 with average house prices growing by 8% on average throughout the year and now standing at £185,347. This is over three times the rate of growth of an ISA, which is 2.5% at best, so it is clear to see why so many people are continuing to invest in property and get on the property ladder. Although sales transactions have dropped in December by 9% annually, 2015 has started briskly with the stamp duty reforms and very attractive mortgage rates fuelling buyer demand and we expect this to continue into the spring.”
