Home Asking Price Index, March 2007: London leads house price surge
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.7% in the month and 3.5% over the year, with Greater London prices up 1.6%.
This is the March 2007 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 13 March 2007, under the headline:
London Leads House Price Surge
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 move up to their highest point since February 2005 with a monthly rise of 0.7%.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales have risen 3.5% in the last year, the fastest annual rate for 2 years. (ca. 0.8% above the CPI, ca. 0.7% below the RPI and ca. 0.2% below the AEI).
- Greater London Asking Prices account for much of the surge this month, with a rise in the mix-adjusted average house price of 1.6%
Summary
Following a lacklustre performance in February, this month's figures suggest that overall market sentiment remains distinctly bullish, especially in London, and that the recent asking price rally is far from over. March's mix adjusted average asking price for homes on the market in England and Wales is up 0.7% on February's figure and up 1.1% in Q1 2007. The twelve-month change in house prices now stands at +3.5%, its highest level for two years, which is broadly in line with wage inflation for the UK. Such continued strong growth indicates that sellers' confidence remains high and rebuts any suggestions that the recent rising trend may be losing momentum.
Continued growth in asking prices over the last year has moved the annual % change firmly back into positive territory, taking back much of the ground lost in the market correction of 2005. Price reductions of properties whilst on the market are much less prevalent than in 2005 as sellers stick to their guns in what may be regarded as a second wave of rising asking prices. The greatest contribution to the rise in this month's indexed average for England and Wales was from Greater London, where market sentiment is arguably at its most positive in the UK.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change in asking prices | +0.7% |
| Annual change in asking prices | +3.5% |
| Q1 2007 change in asking prices | +1.1% |
| Greater London monthly rise in mix-adjusted average | +1.6% |
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
Laspeyres Indices based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices
Source: HM Land Registry
Regional tables
Regional Housing Markets
| Greater London | £326,096 | +2.5% |
| Scotland | £161,644 | +2.1% |
| East Anglia | £256,567 | +1.7% |
| North West | £187,596 | +1.5% |
| South East | £280,059 | +1.2% |
| West Midlands | £203,019 | +0.9% |
| North | £168,458 | +0.6% |
| South West | £264,652 | +0.4% |
| Wales | £193,662 | -0.1% |
| East Midlands | £188,100 | -0.3% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £172,792 | -1.5% |
Regional average asking prices for March 07, showing gains and losses for Q1 2007.
Read the full March 2007 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 March 2007 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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