Home Asking Price Index, March 2013: house price rises push up from the South
England and Wales asking prices rose 0.6% in the month, led by Greater London up 1.1%, while the typical time on market fell 11 days year-on-year.
This is the March 2013 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 March 2013, under the headline:
House Price Rises Push Up from the South
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 jump 0.6% in the last month
- Demand is rising; the typical time on market is 11 days lower than this time last year
- Prices in Greater London continue to outperform the rest of the UK; up another 1.1% on last month, equating to a 2.8% rise in 2013 alone
- After five months of price falls, prices in the North West finally stabilised this month.
- Across England and Wales the average asking price has risen by almost 3% during the past 12 months
Summary
So far, the expected Spring market boost is only translating into price gains in the Southern regions. Whilst the Northern regions are indeed showing evidence of price stabilisation, it is London and its adjacent regions that are pushing the national average asking price up (0.6% since February and up 2.9% since a year ago). This positive price trend looks set to continue into 2013 supported by falling marketing times: welcome news to vendors across the country, but especially so in the South.
Greater London continues to outperform the rest of the UK, with a month-on-month price rise of 1.1%. The capital's adjacent regions also continue to record price growth with the South East up 0.5% and East Anglia up 0.8% on last month. At the other end of the performance scale, average asking prices in the North West, North East, Wales and Scotland remained frozen but not falling.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Average asking price (England & Wales) | £235,101 |
| Monthly change | 0.6% |
| Annual change | 2.9% |
| Typical Time on Market | 136 days |
| Supply of sales properties (year-on-year) | -10.6% |
| Properties reduced in price | 51,336 |
| Home Market Turnover Indicator | 2552 |
Figures are for England and Wales unless the report states otherwise, as published in the edition.
Charts from the report
Regional tables
UK asking prices, Mar-13
| Region | Average Asking Price | Monthly % change | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £159,589 | 0.1% | 1.0% |
| North East | £152,350 | 0.2% | 1.1% |
| Yorks & The Humber | £168,145 | 0.6% | 0.7% |
| England & Wales | £235,101 | 0.6% | 2.9% |
| North West | £171,066 | 0.0% | -0.9% |
| West Midlands | £189,762 | 0.6% | 1.4% |
| East Midlands | £175,286 | 0.5% | 1.8% |
| East | £251,519 | 0.8% | 3.6% |
| Wales | £174,453 | 0.2% | 1.2% |
| Greater London | £368,357 | 1.1% | 6.6% |
| South East | £299,934 | 0.5% | 3.4% |
| South West | £255,976 | 0.8% | 2.2% |
Regional Time on Market and price performance over Q1 2013
| Rank | Region | Typical Time on Market (days) | Price change since Dec 2012 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Greater London | 96 | 2.8% |
| 2 | South East | 96 | 1.2% |
| 3 | East | 115 | 1.0% |
| 4 | South West | 122 | 0.5% |
| 5 | West Midlands | 140 | 0.6% |
| 6 | East Midlands | 142 | 0.8% |
| 7 | North West | 166 | -0.3% |
| 8 | Yorks & The Humber | 168 | 0.8% |
| 9 | Scotland | 177 | -0.6% |
| 10 | Wales | 178 | -0.2% |
From the director's commentary
"With the exception of the Yorkshire region, the bottom half of the table clearly highlights the direct relationship between time of market and price performance. Compared to the national average, property in the struggling regions is on the market for an extra 46 days or around 1.5 months."
Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk
Read the full March 2013 edition (PDF, 5 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 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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