Home Asking Price Index, August 2007: confident sellers shrug off rate hikes
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 1.3% during July, lifting the annual increase to 7.7% while Greater London's average price passed £350,000 for the first time.
This is the August 2007 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 13 August 2007, under the headline:
Confident sellers shrug off rate hikes
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
- Prices of homes on the market are rising at their fastest rate since Nov06.
- Asking Prices for homes in England and Wales are up 1.3% this month and are up 7.7% year-on-year (YoY).
- Greater London average Asking Price is now above £350,000 for the first time.
- Asking prices have risen in all England's regions, Scotland and Wales since July.
Summary
Asking Prices for homes in England and Wales are rising at an annual rate of 7.7%, ca. 5.3% above the CPI, ca. 3.3% above the RPI and ca. 4.1% above the AEI (excluding bonuses). Asking prices are now rising in all regions. Favourable seasonal factors, the introduction of Home Information Packs (HIPs) and considerable market momentum have all helped drive up asking prices of homes across all of the UK. These factors have pushed the HAPI for England and Wales up to a new high of 106.0 [May04 = 100]. The mix-adjusted average price of a UK home advertised on the open market now stands at £258,531.
Year-on-year (YoY) growth in asking prices for England and Wales now stands at 7.7%. Interest rate rises over the last 12 months have so far had little effect in slowing house price inflation despite the fact that affordability levels have fallen for the majority of buyers. The BBA's report that mortgage approvals for house purchase were down 11% in June 07 (compared to June 06). Higher pricing by sellers will serve to further reduce the number of potential buyers.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change in asking prices | +1.3% |
| Annual change in asking prices (YoY) | +7.7% |
| HAPI index (England and Wales) | 106.0 |
| Mortgage approvals change (June 07 vs June 06) | -11% |
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 Indices based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Indices 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 | 6 month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £350,697 | +9.4% |
| Scotland | £179,613 | +9.0% |
| South East | £296,421 | +6.5% |
| South West | £274,354 | +3.8% |
| East Midlands | £194,079 | +3.3% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £177,554 | +3.0% |
| West Midlands | £207,301 | +2.9% |
| Wales | £198,315 | +2.7% |
| North West | £192,355 | +2.2% |
| North | £170,096 | +2.2% |
| East Anglia | £263,068 | +1.9% |
Regional average asking prices for Aug 07 showing gains and losses since Feb 07.
Read the full August 2007 edition (PDF, 10 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 August 2007 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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