Home Asking Price Index, January 2007: asking price rally continues
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.5% in January, marking a fifth consecutive monthly rise and 1.9% annual growth over 2006.
This is the January 2007 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 January 2007, under the headline:
Asking Price Rally Continues
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 rose again for the fifth consecutive month, by 0.5%.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales rose by 1.9% in 2006 (ca. 0.8% below the CPI,* ca. 2.0% below the RPI and ca. 1.9% below the AEI).
- Greater London Asking Prices rose this month by 0.9% (and 4.3% in 2006).
Summary
Asking prices for residential properties on the market in England and Wales increased by 0.5% this month, continuing the recent rising trend, which characterised the later half of 2006. Such confidence amongst sellers, despite two interest rate hikes by the Bank of England over the same period, signifies the renewed strength of the UK housing market. The present asking price rally follows in the wake of a 2-year period of eroding asking prices, which served to ease affordability constraints affecting the market to the point at which buyers returned. Correspondingly, the current up-turn in house prices has been driven by this increase in buyer demand, especially from first-time buyers. However as prices continue to surge, affordability will again diminish and buyer demand will begin to ebb in this finely balanced market.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change in asking prices | +0.5% |
| Annual change in asking prices (2006) | +1.9% |
| Greater London monthly change | +0.9% |
| Greater London annual change (2006) | +4.3% |
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
Source: HM Land Registry
Regional tables
Regional Housing Markets
| Scotland | £166,308 | +17.9% |
| Wales | £194,942 | +8.5% |
| South West | £265,653 | +4.9% |
| Greater London | £320,540 | +4.3% |
| South East | £278,812 | +1.9% |
| West Midlands | £201,896 | +1.4% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £171,786 | 0.0% |
| East Midlands | £187,918 | -0.5% |
| East Anglia | £255,347 | -0.9% |
| North West | £185,064 | -1.3% |
| North | £167,198 | -2.5% |
Regional average asking prices for January 07, showing gains and losses over 2006.
Read the full January 2007 edition (PDF, 8 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 January 2007 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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