Home Asking Price Index, May 2007: asking price growth slows
Asking prices in England and Wales rose just 0.1% in April, holding annual growth at 5.0% as more properties entered the market.
This is the May 2007 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 14 May 2007, under the headline:
Asking Price Growth Slows
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 rose only slightly this month by 0.1%.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales have risen 5.0% in the last year and 2.5% over the last 6 months. (ca. 1.9% above the CPI, ca. 0.2% above the RPI and ca. 0.4% above the AEI excluding bonuses).
- Greater London Asking Prices rose 1.5% this month making the total rise over the last six months equal to 7.0%.
Summary
A large surge in the number of properties entering the market albeit with more competitive pricing has made for a month of weak gains in asking prices. The year-on-year change for England and Wales remains unchanged at 5.0%. With so much property on the market, the small 0.1% rise registered since the April report suggests that confidence amongst sellers may be beginning to ebb. The recent underlying trend of strengthening market sentiment is still evident in Greater London, whilst other regions show more mixed results. The UK property market appears to have lost some of the spring in its step under the increasing pressure of rising interest rates.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change | +0.1% |
| Annual change | +5.0% |
| 6-month change | +2.5% |
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
| Average Price | 6 Month Change | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £336,902 | +7.0% |
| Scotland | £165,760 | +4.0% |
| South East | £283,771 | +3.1% |
| West Midlands | £204,664 | +2.0% |
| North West | £189,357 | +1.9% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £174,742 | +1.4% |
| East Midlands | £189,137 | +1.2% |
| South West | £266,919 | +0.9% |
| Wales | £193,881 | +0.1% |
| East Anglia | £255,091 | 0.0% |
| North | £169,303 | -1.3% |
Regional average asking prices for April 07 showing gains and losses since Nov 06.
Read the full May 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 May 2007 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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