Home Asking Price Index, October 2009: prices show weak recovery in South
Asking prices in England and Wales rose 0.7% this month but stayed 3.5% lower than a year ago, while typical marketing time fell to 118 days.
This is the October 2009 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 October 2009, under the headline:
Prices Show Weak Recovery in South
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 recovered by 0.7% this month.
- Market house prices rose this month in all English regions except the North East and the North West. Welsh house prices stayed put but Scottish prices fell by 1.0%.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales are 3.5% lower than in Oct 2008.
- Meanwhile, the typical (median) marketing time has fallen from 124 to 118 days over the last month, the shortest since September 2008.
Summary
Confidence amongst home sellers remains weak in a very slow-moving UK property market. Whilst house prices on the market are consolidating in several regions, the typical marketing time (118 days) is more than twice the pre-credit crunch figure. While there are some signs that mortgage credit is becoming more available, Banks and Building Societies continue to demand large deposits, therefore excluding around half of the potential UK homebuyers from the market place. Taking this into account, plus expectations of cuts in government expenditure and the growing jobless figures, any further recovery of UK house prices will be weak and fragile.
Asking prices of 48,725 homes on the market were cut in the month of September, an increase on the number of reductions recorded for August (43,445). The value of the average price reduction in September also rose from August's figure of £16,657 to £18,398. This clearly indicates the continued difficulty in selling property in the current economic climate.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £242,253 |
| Monthly change in asking prices | +0.7% |
| Annual change in asking prices | -3.5% |
| Typical Time on Market | 118 days |
| Average Time on Market | 211 days |
| Number of price reductions | 48,725 |
| HAPI index | 99.3 |
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 | 12-month change | |
|---|---|---|
| Greater London | £338,545 | -1.6% |
| South East | £277,360 | -1.9% |
| South West | £257,041 | -2.9% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £171,793 | -4.0% |
| North West | £176,785 | -4.3% |
| West Midlands | £192,002 | -4.6% |
| East Midlands | £172,747 | -4.7% |
| North East | £157,696 | -4.8% |
| East Anglia | £245,820 | -4.9% |
| Wales | £180,834 | -6.2% |
| Scotland | £160,139 | -10.3% |
Regional Asking Prices for October 2009, showing gains and losses since October 2008.
Read the full October 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 October 2009 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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