Home Asking Price Index, March 2020: home prices bounce to new high as confidence returns
Asking prices in England and Wales jumped 1.1% in a single month, lifting annual growth to 1.8% as confidence returned across all regions.
This is the March 2020 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 March 2020, under the headline:
Home Prices Bounce to New High as Confidence Returns
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
- Home prices jump 1.1% in just one month as confidence returns; the largest such monthly rise since July 2015.
- Scotland and Wales top the regional growth table with month-on-month price hikes of 1.7% and 1.5% respectively, followed by the North West and South West (both showing increases of 1.4%).
- Supply of new sales instructions remains very low across the UK (down 2% year-on-year) and this, combined with already low stock levels in much of the UK, is pushing up prices.
- The largest falls in the number of new instructions year-on-year are in Scotland, the North West and the South West.
- The total sales stock continues to slide across England and Wales; down by 10.9% year-on-year.
- Scarcity is an even more painful problem for home seekers in the rental sector.
Summary
All evidence points to the fact that supply has slumped below the level of demand in both sectors. This situation has clear implications for significant upward price adjustments, particularly in the London rental market where we are witnessing further dramatic rent hikes especially in the more central boroughs.
Annualised mix-adjusted average price growth across England and Wales currently stands at +1.8%; in March 2019, the annualised rate of increase of home prices was -0.3%.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price (England & Wales) | £310,802 |
| Monthly change (England & Wales) | 1.1% |
| Annual change (England & Wales) | +1.8% |
| Total sales stock change (England & Wales, year-on-year) | -10.9% |
| New sales instructions (UK, year-on-year) | -2% |
| Rental supply change (UK, year-on-year) | -17% |
| Average rent change (UK, year-on-year) | +8.2% |
Figures are for England and Wales unless the report states otherwise, as published in the edition.
Charts from the report
Source: Home.co.uk Asking Price Index, March 2020, Indexed to May 2004 (Value =100).
Source: Home.co.uk Asking Price Index, March 2020
Source: Home.co.uk Asking Price Index, March 2020
Source: Home.co.uk Asking Price Index, March 2020. Note: Average = Mean (days), Typical = Median (days)
Regional tables
UK Asking Prices, Mar-20
| Region | Average Asking Price | Monthly % change | Annual % change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £212,368 | 1.4% | 4.3% |
| North East | £162,033 | 0.9% | 2.4% |
| Yorks & The Humber | £204,668 | 1.3% | 3.7% |
| England & Wales | £310,802 | 1.1% | 1.8% |
| North West | £212,368 | 1.4% | 4.3% |
| West Midlands | £258,288 | 1.1% | 3.1% |
| East Midlands | £239,899 | 0.6% | 2.5% |
| East | £347,732 | 0.7% | -0.7% |
| Wales | £214,978 | 1.5% | 4.3% |
| Greater London | £521,048 | 0.9% | 1.2% |
| South East | £396,585 | 1.2% | 1.2% |
| South West | £324,841 | 1.4% | 1.4% |
UK Time on Market, Mar-20
| Region | Average Time on Market | Typical Time on Market | Annual % supply change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | 256 | 143 | -6% |
| North East | 241 | 135 | -1% |
| Yorks & The Humber | 183 | 109 | -3% |
| England & Wales | 192 | 111 | -2% |
| North West | 197 | 120 | -4% |
| West Midlands | 165 | 98 | -3% |
| East Midlands | 162 | 97 | 0% |
| East | 163 | 97 | 3% |
| Wales | 237 | 137 | -2% |
| Greater London | 202 | 108 | -2% |
| South East | 169 | 99 | 0% |
| South West | 186 | 110 | -4% |
From the director's commentary
"Confidence among agents and vendors is high because they both know that supply is low relative to demand and therefore pricing is increasingly bullish. Whilst lending rates remain low and look set to go even lower, thanks to the wider economic malaise and market panic, British bricks and mortar will continue to be a highly attractive safe haven for investors."
Doug Shephard, Director at Home.co.uk
Read the full March 2020 edition (PDF, 6 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 2020 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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