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Home Asking Price Index, March 2012: shock supply drop slows market
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.3% in February as new sales listings fell 18% year on year, slowing market turnover.
- England & Wales average asking price
- £226,458
- Monthly change in asking prices
- +0.3%
- Annual change in asking prices
- +1.4%
- 6-month change in asking prices
- +0.5%
In this article
This is the March 2012 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 March 2012, under the headline:
Shock Supply Drop Slows Market
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 on the market in England and Wales have nudged up 0.3% since February, in line with seasonal expectations.
- Average time on market has dropped back just one day to 229 days: market turnover is 20% lower than in March 2011.
- New UK sales listings in the month of February were fewer than expected: 18% less than in February 2011.
- Greater London home prices register a 40-month high as supply drops a massive 23% year on year.
- East Anglia registers a 26% shortfall in new instructions year on year.
- Annual change in asking prices: +1.4%
- 6-month change: +0.5%
Summary
After a brief surge in January the number of new sales listings has plunged. February registered just 109,560 new listings which is around 24,000 less than in February 2011. This translates to 1.5 fewer new instructions for each and every estate agent sales office in the UK.
With fewer homes on the market prices will, of course, remain firm but overall turnover of properties is down severely. The worst hit regions are Greater London, the South East, East Midlands and East Anglia where new instructions are down 23% or more year on year. Perhaps surprisingly, these are the country's most buoyant regional housing markets. It may not be coincidental that potential vendors are increasingly turning their attention to the booming rental sector.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| England & Wales average asking price | £226,458 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | +0.3% |
| Annual change in asking prices | +1.4% |
| 6-month change in asking prices | +0.5% |
| Average time on market | 229 days |
| Typical (median) time on market | 147 days |
| New sales listings (February) | 109,560 |
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 March 2012, showing gains and losses in Q1 and current typical time on
| Current average price | 3-month change | Median ToM (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| South East | £289,951 | +1.3% | 109 |
| Greater London | £345,398 | +1.0% | 105 |
| East Anglia | £242,806 | +0.5% | 121 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £167,053 | +0.5% | 187 |
| West Midlands | £187,197 | +0.3% | 157 |
| North West | £172,662 | +0.2% | 176 |
| South West | £250,436 | +0.1% | 131 |
| East Midlands | £172,171 | +0.1% | 158 |
| North East | £150,694 | -0.2% | 187 |
| Wales | £172,362 | -0.3% | 202 |
| Scotland | £158,025 | -0.7% | 187 |
| England & Wales | £226,458 | +0.6% | 147 |
market.
Read the full March 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 March 2012 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
