Home Asking Price Index, March 2008: property numbers surge as sellers panic
Average asking prices in England and Wales rose 1.4% in March 2008, driven by a surge in premium London listings, while the annual increase reached 4.4%.
This is the March 2008 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 March 2008, under the headline:
Property Numbers Surge as Sellers Panic
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
- The mix adjusted average Asking Price for homes on the market in England and Wales rose sharply this month by 1.4%, boosted by a surge in premium property listings predominantly in Greater London.
- The year-on-year change in Asking Prices for homes in England and Wales now stands at +4.4%.
- Asking Prices in England & Wales have fallen 0.4% over Q1 2008.
- Monthly falls were registered in only 2 regions in England and Wales.
Summary
Average asking prices rose sharply this month due to a spring surge of new listings dominated by prime properties. Market entry of so many high-end homes has raised the average asking price for England and Wales by 1.4%. Whilst a seasonal increase in supply is to be expected, increased supply of premium properties is unusual and may signify more property market turmoil as investors and City workers move to liquidate prime UK property market assets. Hitherto, prime property in London has been performing extraordinarily well, although the outlook is poor. Fall-out from the Credit Crunch may cull around 10,000 City jobs over the course of 2008, according to the International Financial Services London research group, and increased supply of premium properties will put further downward pressure on prices in this sector. Poor near-term yield forecasts and higher mortgage financing costs have already swelled estate agents inventories across the UK over the last 6 months. A hold this month in the Bank of England base rate will not have been welcomed by sellers and buyers hoping for a further cut. In fact, mortgage credit tightened further this month as Abbey (the UK's second largest mortgage lender) raised all their rates by 0.3% and the newly nationalised Northern Rock completely stopped writing sub-prime mortgage business.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £259,026 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | +1.4% |
| Year-on-year change | +4.4% |
| Q1 2008 change | -0.4% |
| HAPI index (England & Wales) | 106.2 |
| Regions with monthly falls | 2 |
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 [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Index based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Indices based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Source: HM Land Registry
Regional tables
Regional Housing Markets
| Current average price | 3-month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £361,417 | +1.6% |
| North | £169,562 | +0.3% |
| Wales | £196,020 | +0.2% |
| North West | £191,407 | -0.3% |
| East Midlands | £190,619 | -0.3% |
| South East | £293,268 | -0.5% |
| Scotland | £180,303 | -0.7% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £183,336 | -0.9% |
| South West | £269,228 | -1.4% |
| West Midlands | £206,622 | -1.4% |
| East Anglia | £263,174 | -2.3% |
| England & Wales | £259,026 | -0.4% |
Regional average asking prices for Mar 2008 showing gains and losses over Q1.
Central London home prices by property type, March 2008
| No. of properties | Average price | Median price | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Flat | 52,199 | £472,217 | £319,950 |
| Detached | 2,503 | £1,026,496 | £675,000 |
| Semi-detached | 7,382 | £526,123 | £399,995 |
| Terraced | 10,020 | £640,446 | £374,950 |
The report notes that the number of properties for sale in central London rose by 22.5% in the preceding fourteen days and that most of the new listings were flats.
Read the full March 2008 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 2008 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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