Home Asking Price Index, August 2008: decrease in house prices shows no sign of abating
Asking prices in England and Wales fell 0.6% in August 2008, extending a 2.0% annual decline, with falls recorded across all nine English regions and Scotland.
This is the August 2008 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 August 2008, under the headline:
Decrease in House Prices Shows No Sign of Abating
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 in England and Wales are down by 0.6% this month, and down by 2.0% since Aug 07, a fall in real terms of ca. 6.6% relative to the Retail Price Index (June 08).
- Falls were observed in all 9 English regions this month. Over the last six months only Greater London shows any rise and this, a mere 0.4%.
- Asking Prices in Scotland fell by 2.9% this month, and are showing a loss over the past six months of 2.7%.
- Only Welsh homes saw an increase in their mix-adjusted asking price this month.
Summary
Following another month of continued media speculation over falling house prices and the global credit crunch it is perhaps to be expected that the HAPI continues to record falls across all 9 English regions and in Scotland. The surprise is that Wales has bucked the trend and shown a monthly increase in asking price of +0.5%. Overall, there are falls in the asking price of detached and semi-detached properties and flats this month. However, there is a slight monthly increase in asking prices of terraced properties, perhaps explained by landlords seeking to remove some of the larger capital investments from their portfolios.
Figures confirming that repossessions in the first six months of the year increased by 48% and the continuing uncertainty over any government intervention in the housing market will do nothing to steady confidence. As such any halt in the decline in asking prices appears unlikely in the foreseeable future.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £253,351 |
| Monthly change (England & Wales) | -0.6% |
| Annual change (England & Wales) | -2.0% |
| 6-month change (England & Wales) | -0.9% |
| HAPI index (England & Wales) | 103.8 |
| Repossessions increase (first six months of year) | +48% |
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 Housing Markets
| Current average price | 6 month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Wales | £193,955 | +1.3% |
| Greater London | £351,063 | +0.4% |
| West Midlands | £202,661 | 0.0% |
| East Anglia | £262,572 | -0.4% |
| South East | £285,698 | -1.0% |
| South West | £264,933 | -1.3% |
| North West | £186,349 | -2.0% |
| East Midlands | £184,352 | -2.3% |
| North East | £164,606 | -2.5% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £179,166 | -2.5% |
| Scotland | £174,354 | -2.7% |
Regional asking prices for August 2008, showing gains and losses since February 2008.
Read the full August 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 August 2008 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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