Home Asking Price Index, April 2012: spring boost for home prices
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.8% in April 2012, marking the strongest annual growth in four years at 2.1%.
This is the April 2012 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 April 2012, under the headline:
Spring Boost for Home Prices
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
- Asking prices for homes on the market in England and Wales have moved up a further 0.8% since March, showing increased confidence amongst sellers.
- Asking prices show best annual growth for 4 years.
- New UK home sales listings in Q1 2012 were 5.2% fewer than in Q1 2011.
- Home prices are up in all English regions, Scotland and Wales since March.
- Home price gains are closing the gap with inflation and are now only 2.8% behind RPI (ex. housing).
- Annual change in asking prices: +2.1%
- 6-month change: +0.9%
Summary
Restricted supply of property for sale and relatively low interest rates continue to support the average UK home price. There remains however a distinct North-South divide and a growing disparity in the relative fortunes of the regional property markets. Asking price trends in the regions are currently highly correlated with supply and demand dynamics. Supply of property for sale in Greater London and East Anglia are down 11% and 9% respectively year-on-year whilst Scotland and the North West indicate listing rates are up 14% and 19% respectively.
The rental market continues to boom and this means that many property owners, who may have considered selling in more normal times, are instead opting to let out their properties. Gross yields can be as good as 6% and this is encouraging significant investment. So much so, that should these trends continue, private renting may account for 25% of all housing stock by 2020.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £230,162 |
| 6-month change | +0.9% |
| Annual change in asking prices | +2.1% |
| Median Time on Market (England & Wales) | 135 days |
| Change in new listings, Q1 2012 vs Q1 2011 | -5.2% |
| HAPI index (England and Wales) | 97.6 |
| Gap behind RPI (ex. housing) | 2.8% |
| Monthly change since March | +0.8% |
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 Indices 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 Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Source: HM Land Registry
Regional tables
Regional asking prices for April 2012, showing gains and losses since Oct 11 and current typical
| Current average price | 6-month change | Median ToM (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South East | £293,232 | +2.0% | 79 |
| Greater London | £347,502 | +1.9% | 79 |
| East Anglia | £245,597 | +0.8% | 89 |
| South West | £252,652 | +0.6% | 108 |
| East Midlands | £173,633 | +0.5% | 145 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £167,810 | +0.3% | 184 |
| West Midlands | £188,059 | +0.1% | 147 |
| North West | £173,450 | -0.1% | 165 |
| North East | £152,118 | -0.3% | 192 |
| Wales | £172,759 | -0.4% | 195 |
| Scotland | £159,599 | -1.6% | 177 |
| England & Wales | £230,162 | +0.9% | 135 |
time on market.
Read the full April 2012 edition (PDF, 12 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 2012 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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