Home Asking Price Index, November 2009: winter blues stall market recovery
Asking prices in England and Wales fell 0.7% in October and were 2.8% lower than a year earlier, while typical marketing time dropped to 115 days.
This is the November 2009 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 November 2009, under the headline:
Winter Blues Stall Market Recovery
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 falls back by 0.7% this month.
- Market house prices fell this month in all English regions except the North East. Welsh and Scottish market house prices also fell.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales are 2.8% lower than in Nov 2008.
- Meanwhile, the typical (median) marketing time has fallen further from 118 to 115 days over the last month, the shortest since August 2008.
- Average UK Asking Price has fallen 5.4% over the last 5 years.
Summary
Sentiment among home sellers remains subdued. A slow-moving UK property market means that prices are stagnating whilst the mild recovery noted in the earlier part of the year is looking ever more vulnerable as mounting unemployment takes its toll.
Market weakness is currently seen in more conservative initial pricing of properties for sale, together with an increase in on-market reductions for a second consecutive month. Asking prices of 55,534 homes on the UK market were cut in the month of October, an increase on the number of reductions recorded for September (48,725). However, the value of the average price reduction in October was the smallest yet recorded this year at £17,358.
Overall the above figures clearly indicate the continued difficulty in selling property in the current economic climate in most parts of the UK.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £228,442 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | -0.7% |
| Annual change in asking prices | -2.8% |
| Typical (median) time on market | 115 days |
| Average (mean) time on market | 209 days |
| Number of price reductions in October | 55,534 |
| Number of price reductions in September | 48,725 |
| HAPI index (England and Wales) | 97.51 |
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 Housing Markets
| Current average price | 6month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £342,801 | +1.0% |
| West Midlands | £190,286 | +0.8% |
| South East | £284,775 | -0.1% |
| South West | £250,773 | -1.2% |
| East Anglia | £237,664 | -1.7% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £171,829 | -1.8% |
| North East | £155,516 | -1.8% |
| East Midlands | £171,177 | -2.1% |
| North West | £175,361 | -2.2% |
| Wales | £179,021 | -2.3% |
| Scotland | £159,314 | -5.9% |
| England & Wales | £228,442 | -2.8% |
Regional Asking Prices for November 2009, showing gains and losses since May 2009.
Read the full November 2009 edition (PDF, 10 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 November 2009 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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