Home Asking Price Index, April 2008: sellers begin to price to market
Average asking prices in England and Wales fell 0.7% in April 2008, with annual growth slowing to 2.6%, well below inflation.
This is the April 2008 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 14 April 2008, under the headline:
Sellers Begin to Price to Market
The headlines and summary below are the report's own words, with the key figures as it published them, followed by the report's charts and regional tables as printed.
Headlines
- The mix adjusted average Asking Price for homes on the market in England and Wales fell this month by 0.7%.
- Monthly falls were registered in 8 of the 9 English regions and in Scotland and Wales.
- Asking Prices in England & Wales have risen only 2.6% since April 2007, a fall in real terms of 1.5% relative to the Retail Price Index (RPI).
- Scottish Asking Prices fell 2.9% in six months.
Summary
The 2008 Spring-bounce in the UK housing market is conspicuous by its absence. Market sentiment is deteriorating along with consumer confidence. Since the tipping-point in August 2007, mortgage credit for buyers has been increasingly difficult to secure as more and more deals are withdrawn from the market. Understandably, home sellers are therefore becoming increasingly desperate to sell and a minority have begun to make small cuts in their asking prices, although most properties are still priced according to last years credit market.
A further 0.25% cut in the base rate by the Bank of England has made little difference to mortgage rates. In fact, mortgage interest rates have been raised this month by several lenders including the Nationwide Building Society. Banks and Building Societies are now especially unwilling to lend large Loan-to-Value ratios and this is due to a perceived risk of falling house prices akin to the US housing market crash. Such risk aversion may well turn out to be self-fulfilling prophecy. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that UK property is nearly 30% overvalued and that house prices may fall 10% this year.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £257,235 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | -0.7% |
| Annual change in asking prices | +2.6% |
| Change in year-on-year growth | -1.8% |
| HAPI index for England and Wales | 105.4 |
Figures are for England and Wales unless the report states otherwise, as published in the edition.
Charts from the report
Laspeyres Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices. [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Indices based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Source: HM Land Registry
Regional tables
Regional Housing Markets
| Current average price | 12-month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £180,018 | +10.4% |
| Greater London | £355,073 | +9.9% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £182,861 | +5.2% |
| South East | £291,643 | +2.7% |
| East Anglia | £263,386 | +1.7% |
| North West | £190,669 | +1.3% |
| North | £168,704 | +1.1% |
| West Midlands | £206,266 | +1.0% |
| South West | £268,114 | -0.1% |
| East Midlands | £188,420 | -0.6% |
| Wales | £194,379 | -0.7% |
| England & Wales | £257,235 | +2.6% |
Regional asking prices for April 2008, showing gains and losses since April 2007.
Read the full April 2008 edition (PDF, 9 pages)
About the Home Asking Price Index
The Home Asking Price Index measures the change in the prices sellers ask for residential property across England, Wales and Scotland. Today it is computed every month from around half a million advertised homes and is mix-adjusted, so a change in what happens to be on the market does not move the figure; earlier editions state the sample they were built from. Because an asking price is set months before a sale completes, the index runs around five months ahead of completed-sale measures such as the UK House Price Index.
Every edition in the archive, back to October 2006, is listed on the index page. How we measure the UK property market explains the listing data behind it, and today's figures by area are on house prices and rental prices.
Text and figures above are quoted from the April 2008 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
More in What is happening to house prices: the Home guide
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