Home Asking Price Index, January 2013: shrinking supply supports UK home prices
UK asking prices rose 2.6% year on year in January 2013 while total unsold property fell 11% compared with a year earlier.
This is the January 2013 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 15 January 2013, under the headline:
Shrinking Supply Supports UK Home Prices
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 are down just 0.1% since December, in line with seasonal expectations.
- Demand up again: Typical Time on Market 10 days lower than in January 2012.
- Supply still falling: Total property on market down 11% vs. Jan 2012.
- Asking prices increased in 8 English regions, Scotland and Wales over the last year, while home prices fell in the North West.
- Average Time on Market now 4 days shorter than in January 2012.
- Annual change in UK home prices: +2.6%
- 6-month change: +0.2%
Summary
2013 gets off to a great start with UK home prices registering the best 12-month growth figure since April 2008. Whilst the market remains very different to the frothy exuberance experienced before the financial crisis, signs of recovery are clearly apparent. Take typical marketing times for example: down 10 days year-on-year. Moreover, UK asking price growth has now been year-on-year positive for 14 consecutive months. Low interest rates and strong rental demand have been key drivers in the market recovery.
However, UK home price growth remains just behind inflation (RPI ex-housing) and marketing times still need to come down further (especially in the North). Indeed, the national figures hide the fact that the market still remains very much divided North-South, with London and the South East enjoying much better market conditions than the Northern regions. Greater London has shown impressive price growth of 5.1% over the last year while the North West has suffered a loss of 0.3%. Spring 2013 may well show some improvement in the fortunes of property in the North, Scotland and Wales. Meanwhile, London, its surrounding regions and the South West are expected to prosper in 2013.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £232,348 |
| Monthly change | -0.1% |
| Annual change | +2.6% |
| 6-month change | +0.2% |
| Typical Time on Market | 144 days |
| Mean Time on Market | 237 days |
| Total property on market vs Jan 2012 | -11% |
| HAPI Index (England & Wales) | 99.3 |
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 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 asking prices for January 2013, showing gains and losses since January 2012 and current typical
| Current average price | 12-month change | Median ToM (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £359,319 | +5.1% | 103 |
| South East | £295,798 | +3.0% | 108 |
| East Anglia | £248,308 | +3.0% | 116 |
| South West | £253,524 | +2.3% | 123 |
| Wales | £174,941 | +1.5% | 191 |
| North East | £152,380 | +1.5% | 206 |
| West Midlands | £188,527 | +1.2% | 151 |
| East Midlands | £173,603 | +1.1% | 144 |
| Scotland | £158,622 | +0.3% | 183 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £166,715 | +0.1% | 175 |
| North West | £171,421 | -0.3% | 174 |
| England & Wales | £232,348 | +2.6% | 144 |
time on market.
Read the full January 2013 edition (PDF, 13 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 2013 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
More in What is happening to house prices: the Home guide
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