House prices down for third month on the bounce

For the third consecutive month, house prices have fallen. The latest data released by Your Move this morning has also revealed that the annual rate of growth has now fallen for 11 months in succession.

Related topics:  Property
Warren Lewis
21st May 2018
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According to the figures, annual house price growth now stands at just 1%, down from 9% at its height in February 2016, however the decline is slowing, with many of the regions and cities outside London proving resilient.

Excluding London and the South East, prices in England and Wales remain 3% up on the same time last year, and only London is currently recording an annual fall in prices.

However whether the same is true for transactions remains to be seen: estimated sales of 50,000 in April were down by a quarter on March –significantly greater than the usual 5% seasonal decline.

Many, including Your Move, are citing the weather as having played its part in the decline. The “Beast from the East” which hit at the end of February being the main culprit. However, muted activity is also underpinned by a real shortage of properties being put up for sale.

Oliver Blake, managing director of Your Move and Reeds Rains, said: “London remains the exception, rather than the rule, when it comes to the strength of the market in the major cities of England and Wales, which remain strong. The market remains slow, though, when it comes to the number of transactions.”

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