Home Asking Price Index, October 2007: house prices fall further
Asking prices in England and Wales fell 0.6% in September, remaining 5.9% higher than a year earlier despite falls in six of nine regions.
This is the October 2007 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 October 2007, under the headline:
House Prices Fall Further
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
- Prices of homes on the market in England and Wales have fallen for a second month by 0.6%.
- Asking Prices for homes in England and Wales have risen 5.9% year-on-year & 2.0% over the last 6 months.
- Greater London Asking Prices fall again, 0.5% in a month.
- Asking prices in Wales fall 3.0% in one month.
- Prices fall again in 6 of the 9 regions in England and Wales.
Summary
A further fall in the mix adjusted average house price for England and Wales confirms a dramatic change in UK housing market sentiment. Confidence amongst sellers is crumbling in many parts of the UK as the effect of five consecutive interest rate rises is felt. Sellers' problems have been further compounded owing to the knock-on effects of the credit-crunch, which has both reduced the availability of credit for homebuyers and shaken buyers' confidence in the housing market. The much publicised trouble at Northern Rock, Britain's fifth-largest mortgage lender and the first British bank in 15 years to be bailed out by regulators, has marked the beginning of a more troubled chapter in the history of the UK housing market. The HAPI for England and Wales has dropped 0.6% to 104.9 since September [May04 = 100].
Over the last 12 months, Asking Prices for homes in England and Wales have risen 5.9%, ca. 4.1% above the CPI, ca. 1.8% above the RPI and ca. 2.4% above the AEI (excluding bonuses). The mix-adjusted average price of homes in England and Wales, advertised on the open market, now stands at £256,008.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change | -0.6% |
| Annual (YoY) change | +5.9% |
| 6-month change | +2.0% |
| HAPI index (England and Wales) | 104.9 |
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 Indices based on Weighted Arithmetic Mean of Regional House Prices [May04 = 100]
Laspeyres Indices 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
| Current average price | 12 month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Scotland | £185,222 | +23.1% |
| Greater London | £344,795 | +11.8% |
| West Midlands | £212,009 | +10.2% |
| South East | £294,345 | +8.7% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £180,029 | +6.3% |
| North | £172,257 | +4.2% |
| South West | £270,375 | +4.1% |
| North West | £191,377 | +3.0% |
| East Midlands | £191,063 | +2.9% |
| Wales | £192,620 | +0.2% |
| East Anglia | £253,256 | +0.1% |
Regional average asking prices for Oct 07 showing gains since Oct 06.
Read the full October 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 October 2007 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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