Home Asking Price Index, August 2016: average prices weighed down by steep falls in London
London asking prices fell 1.2% in a month while England and Wales prices rose 5.3% annually, with Typical Time on Market reaching 86 days.
This is the August 2016 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 August 2016, under the headline:
Average Prices Weighed Down by Steep Falls in London
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
- Home prices in London continue to fall steeply, down a further 1.2% in just one month.
- Supply of property increases sharply in the key regions of London (+27%), East of England (+19%) and the South East (+19%).
- Prices fall in four English regions and Scotland, making the overall mix-adjusted average asking price drop 0.1% since last month.
- The number of properties reduced in price last month jumps to a 45-month high.
- Typical Time on Market edges up another four days to 86 days over the last month across England and Wales: still six days less than in August 2015.
- The average annualised rate of home price appreciation for England and Wales slips further to 5.3%.
- The total stock of property on the market edges up again and is just 0.5% less than in August last year.
Summary
Price drops in London have sparked a surge in new listings as sellers try to cash in, albeit probably too late to achieve the best sale value. Prices dropped a further 1.2% in the capital region over the last month, which equates to a fall in value of around £6,400 for the average property. Unnerved by Brexit, the Buy-to-Let taxation changes and warnings about overvaluation, vendors are increasing the property supply. However, a leap in new listings of 27% (July 2016 compared to July 2015) will only serve to worsen the market conditions in Greater London.
Property marketing times are rising across most parts of the country. Low confidence among sellers has already triggered a spate of price cutting, the magnitude of which we have not seen since October 2012.
Nervousness among sellers also meant that prices slipped in the South East by a further 0.2% during the last month. This second monthly drop along with a concomitant rise in supply (+19%) may mean this region will follow London into a period of price falls. Scottish asking prices also slipped for a second consecutive month, by 0.5%.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £296,499 |
| Monthly change (England & Wales) | -0.1% |
| Annual change (England & Wales) | 5.3% |
| Typical Time on Market | 86 days |
| Total stock change (year-on-year) | -0.5% |
| Bank of England base rate | 0.25% |
Figures are for England and Wales unless the report states otherwise, as published in the edition.
Charts from the report
Source: Home.co.uk, August 2016
Source: Home.co.uk, August 2016
Source: Home.co.uk, August 2016
Source: Home.co.uk, August 2016
Source: Home.co.uk, August 2016. Note: Average = Mean (days), Typical = Median (days)
Regional tables
UK Asking Prices, Aug-16
| Region | Average Asking Price | Monthly % change | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £177,799 | -0.5% | 6.0% |
| North East | £155,957 | 1.0% | 1.8% |
| Yorks & The Humber | £181,212 | -0.4% | 3.4% |
| England & Wales | £296,499 | -0.1% | 5.3% |
| North West | £186,122 | 0.1% | 3.8% |
| West Midlands | £225,601 | 0.8% | 7.0% |
| East Midlands | £209,375 | -0.2% | 5.3% |
| East | £338,623 | 0.6% | 13.7% |
| Wales | £186,146 | 0.3% | 1.4% |
| Greater London | £538,021 | -1.2% | 2.5% |
| South East | £392,136 | -0.2% | 6.4% |
| South West | £307,058 | 0.5% | 5.2% |
UK Time on Market, Aug-16
| Region | Average Time on Market | Typical Time on Market | Annual % supply change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 214 | 95 | 3% |
| North East | 232 | 117 | 4% |
| Yorks & The Humber | 185 | 98 | -2% |
| England & Wales | 156 | 82 | 6% |
| North West | 190 | 103 | -4% |
| West Midlands | 151 | 83 | -6% |
| East Midlands | 141 | 80 | -5% |
| East | 104 | 60 | 19% |
| Wales | 226 | 119 | -8% |
| Greater London | 111 | 73 | 27% |
| South East | 101 | 63 | 19% |
| South West | 142 | 81 | 1% |
The edition's headline bullet gives the England & Wales Typical Time on Market as 86 days; the map page prints 82, which is what this table carries.
From the director's commentary
"While it is clear that the referendum result certainly unnerved many investors, it is also clear that they are not all running for the exit at once. We will be keeping a particularly close eye on the London market over the next month, watching whether or not the surge in new listings becomes a stampede."
Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk
Read the full August 2016 edition (PDF, 6 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 2016 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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