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Home Asking Price Index, June 2012: home prices up despite weak economy
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.3% in May, with the annual change reaching +1.9% despite reduced housing supply.
- Average asking price (England & Wales)
- £231,998
- 3-month change
- +1.6%
- Annual change
- +1.9%
- 6-month change
- +2.2%
In this article
This is the June 2012 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 June 2012, under the headline:
Home Prices Up Despite Weak Economy
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
- Supply of homes to market has increased but remains 5% lower last month than in May 2011.
- Asking prices for homes on the market in England and Wales have moved up a further 0.3% since May.
- Average UK asking price rises to highest value since Dec 2008.
- Home prices are rising in most English regions and Scotland. Prices fell back slightly in Wales, East Midlands and the South West over the last month.
- Greater London supply of homes for sale is 40% less than May 2008.
- Annual change in asking prices: +1.9%
- 6-month change: +2.2%
Summary
The UK property market remains bi-polar in character, with Northern and Southern Markets showing highly differing fortunes. However, such is the strength of the Southern recovery (principally the Southeast, East Anglia and Greater London) that the national average figures have improved substantially over recent months. Year-on-year change in the national mix-adjusted average figure has been positive for 6 months and this looks set to continue, at least for the near future. We expect this trend of low home price growth to continue as long as both interest rates and supply of homes for sale continue to remain relatively low.
Hence the balance sheets of banks and building societies must also be steadily improving and this may well lead to a better mortgage finance environment. However, when one corrects the current slow rate of price growth for the effects of inflation, currently around 4% (RPI ex-housing is our preferred measure), the real growth in UK home prices remains negative.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £231,998 |
| 3-month change | +1.6% |
| Annual change | +1.9% |
| 6-month change | +2.2% |
| Monthly change since May | +0.3% |
| Mean Time on Market (UK) | 212 days |
| Median Time on Market (England & Wales) | 109 days |
| Supply of homes vs May 2011 | -5% |
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 June 2012, showing gains and losses for Q2 and current typical time on
| Current average price | 3-month change | Median ToM (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| East Anglia | £249,458 | +2.8% | 90 |
| Greater London | £353,084 | +2.3% | 84 |
| South East | £295,476 | +1.9% | 84 |
| Scotland | £160,210 | +1.4% | 119 |
| North East | £152,620 | +1.3% | 153 |
| West Midlands | £189,184 | +1.1% | 114 |
| East Midlands | £174,084 | +1.1% | 114 |
| South West | £252,803 | +1.0% | 95 |
| North West | £173,992 | +0.8% | 137 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £168,196 | +0.7% | 143 |
| Wales | £173,236 | +0.5% | 182 |
| England & Wales | £231,998 | +1.6% | 109 |
market.
Read the full June 2012 edition (PDF, 12 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 June 2012 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
