Home Asking Price Index, May 2011: optimistic sellers push prices to the limit
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.9% in April, the largest monthly increase for two years, while annual growth stayed flat at 0.1%.
This is the May 2011 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 May 2011, under the headline:
Optimistic Sellers Push Prices to the Limit
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 has rallied by a further 0.9% since April, the largest monthly rise for two years.
- The number of properties reduced in price increased during the month of April to 77,510, 29% more than in April 2010.
- Typical time on market has fallen sharply by 26 days to 107 days (median), but remains 12 days more than in May 2010.
- Supply of new properties to market increased to 134,704 in April, 14% more than in April 2010.
- Annual change in asking prices: 0.1%
- 6-month change in asking prices: 0.4%
Summary
The seasonal bounce continues to rally UK home prices. Despite considerable price-cutting activity, the UK mix-adjusted average asking price pushed up 0.9% since our last report. Confidence among sellers is probably buoyed by the fact that the UK housing market is a little more vibrant and turning over slightly greater volumes of property than at this time last year. However, over-optimistic pricing risks stalling the market over the summer months. Supply of properties remains strong: 14% more new properties appeared on the market in April 2011 than in April 2010. Vendors continue to resort to price-cutting: 29% more properties were reduced in price in April 2011 than compared to April 2010. The properties discounted last month represent around 10% of the total sales market at the present time.
Serious homebuyers remain limited in number. Demand from first-time buyers remains very subdued due to a difficult mortgage market, but a growing number of buy-to-let investors are taking up some of the slack in this market sector.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price (England & Wales) | £229,155 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | +0.9% |
| Annual change in asking prices | 0.1% |
| 6-month change in asking prices | 0.4% |
| Typical time on market (median) | 107 days |
| Average time on market (mean) | 204 days |
| Properties reduced in price (April) | 77,510 |
| Supply of new properties (April) | 134,704 |
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 May 2011, showing gains and losses since November 2010 and current typical
| Current average price | 6-month change | ToM (days) | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £163,863 | +2.5% | 168 |
| East Midlands | £173,946 | +2.0% | 119 |
| South East | £287,411 | +0.8% | 78 |
| East Anglia | £243,261 | +0.8% | 87 |
| Greater London | £345,562 | +0.7% | 82 |
| South West | £252,086 | +0.2% | 89 |
| West Midlands | £188,464 | 0.0% | 139 |
| North West | £173,950 | 0.0% | 170 |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £168,410 | -0.2% | 181 |
| Wales | £176,158 | -0.5% | 177 |
| North East | £152,959 | -0.9% | 196 |
| England & Wales | £229,155 | +0.4% | 133 |
time on market.
Read the full May 2011 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 May 2011 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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