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Home Asking Price Index, February 2009: prices falling faster in the South
Asking prices for homes in England and Wales fell 1.4% in the month and 5.9% year on year, with southern regions seeing the steepest declines.
- Monthly change in asking prices
- -1.4%
- Annual change in asking prices
- -5.9%
- Average asking price reduction in December
- £20,250
- Average asking price reduction in January
- £19,564
In this article
This is the February 2009 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 February 2009, under the headline:
Prices Falling Faster in the South
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 dropped 1.4% in the last month.
- Monthly price falls observed in 7 of 9 English regions, Wales and Scotland.
- Market house prices in Greater London dropped 2.5% over the last month.
- Asking Prices across England and Wales have fallen 5.9% since February 08.
- The average Asking Price reduction in December was £20,250.
- Asking prices are falling by around £2,400 per month on average.
Summary
Asking prices for UK residential property are falling more rapidly as sellers' expectations become more realistic. Lower prices are eliciting much more interest as evidenced by a surge in potential buyer enquiries in January.
Asking prices of 137,000 homes on the market were cut in January, a much greater number than the 74,000 reductions recorded in December. The value of the average price cut decreased slightly from December (£20,250) to January (£19,564).
Time-on-market indicators continue to rise and in the worst affected locations the average marketing period for homes for sale is around a year. However, the stock of property for sale on the market is falling as fewer potential vendors choose to sell in the current climate.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change in asking prices | -1.4% |
| Annual change in asking prices | -5.9% |
| Average asking price reduction in December | £20,250 |
| Average asking price reduction in January | £19,564 |
| Average monthly price fall | £2,400 |
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £240,371 |
| HAPI index value | 98.5 |
| 6-month change for England & Wales | -5.1% |
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 | |
|---|---|---|
| North East | £163,642 | -0.6% |
| Scotland | £172,290 | -1.2% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £175,249 | -2.2% |
| North West | £179,954 | -3.4% |
| Wales | £187,125 | -3.5% |
| West Midlands | £193,794 | -4.4% |
| South West | £251,632 | -5.0% |
| East Midlands | £173,500 | -5.9% |
| South East | £268,180 | -6.1% |
| Greater London | £328,280 | -6.5% |
| East Anglia | £244,865 | -6.7% |
Regional Asking Prices for February 2009, showing 6-month % change.
Read the full February 2009 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 February 2009 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
