According to the report which was released this morning, In England, there was an annual price increase of 8.9% which takes the average property value to £226,807. Monthly house prices rose by 1.0% since April 2016.
Wales shows an annual price increase of 3.6% which takes the average property value to £142,568. Monthly house prices rose by 0.9% since April 2016.
London shows an annual price increase of 13.6% which takes the average property value to £472,163. Monthly house prices rose by 1.5% since April 2016.
The regional data indicates that:
London experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months with a movement of 13.6%
the North East experienced the greatest monthly growth with an increase of 2.1%
the North East saw the lowest annual price growth with an increase of 3.2%
the North West saw the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -0.3%
Following a strong increase in sales in the month prior to the stamp duty changes (March 2016), UK home sales fell by 42.3% in April 2016 to their lowest level since May 2013; these have only recovered slightly in May 2016. See the economic statement.
Sales during March 2016, the most up-to-date Land Registry figures available, show that:
the number of completed house sales in England increased by 52% to 102,597 compared with 67,489 in March 2015
the number of completed house sales in Wales increased by 49% to 5,002 compared with 3,358 in March 2015
the number of completed house sales in London increased by 60.6% to 14,783 compared with 9,202 in March 2015
Ian Thomas, co-founder and director of LendInvest, the online property investment company, comments:“Events since the Brexit vote are showing signs that the house buying market may cool in some areas, allowing house prices to reset. But predictions of a storm to come in the housing market are overblown. Despite the shock of that result, the fundamentals of the UK housing market haven’t changed and won’t change in the near future. Irrespective of whether we are in the EU or not, people need homes to live in and we still don’t have anywhere near enough of them.”
Russell Quirk, founder and CEO of eMoov.co.uk commented: "The latest official house price index for May and last of the pre-Brexit property landscape echoes that of its predecessors from Halifax and Nationwide.
A healthy annual increase of nearly 9% across England with May continuing the upward trend seen for a while now with a further 1% increase.
However, despite London seeing the largest annual growth, perhaps the shock of the bunch is the North East outperforming the capital with the greatest monthly growth of 2.1%.
We’ve monitored the slow but steady demand growth in the North East and it seems that this is starting to translate into an increase in prices, albeit marginal at the moment.
In terms of sales volume, the market has certainly levelled out since the artificial spike of April’s stamp duty deadline. Although there has only been a slight recovery, this is to be expected and will probably take a month or two more, before it returns to a level we might expect for this time of year."
Alex Gosling, CEO of online estate agents HouseSimple.com, says: "In the current climate, what happened to the property market in May is largely irrelevant. In the wake of the EU Referendum result, it's now all about what happens to the property market next. And that's the big unknown.
If the May rise imparts anything of note, it's how the underlying imbalance between supply and demand has the potential to prevent prices from falling materially. What's very clear is that homeowners and prospective first time buyers will be watching the market intently over the coming months, each hoping for different outcomes.
But you suspect the ball is currently in the court of buyers, not sellers."
