Home Asking Price Index, September 2008: house price falls accelerate
Asking prices in England and Wales fell 0.9% in the month and 2.0% over Q3, with Greater London suffering the largest quarterly fall of 3.2%.
This is the September 2008 edition of the Home Asking Price Index, released on 12 September 2008, under the headline:
House Price Falls Accelerate
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 on the market in England and Wales fell by 0.9% this month.
- Monthly falls were observed in 8 out of 9 English regions and in Wales.
- Asking Prices in England and Wales have fallen 2.0% over Q3.
- Greater London registered a fall of 2.0% since August thus reducing the average asking price by nearly £7,000.
- Every English region, Scotland and Wales registered mix-adjusted average Asking Price falls over Q3.
Summary
Desperation amongst sellers across the UK is increasing. Asking Price falls are accelerating month-to-month as growing numbers of sellers are forced to offer discounts in order to attract buyer interest. However, the majority of sellers have yet to react decisively to the market slowdown although they may well cut their prices over the coming months.
Market sentiment across all regions of England, Wales and Scotland is clearly downbeat, as all regions have registered falls in their mix-adjusted average Asking Price of homes on the market over Q3. Greater London, a leading indicator for the UK housing market, has suffered the largest fall over Q3 of 3.2%, significantly more than any other region. Wales and the North East suffered only minor nominal falls of 0.4% and 0.9% respectively over the same period.
Key figures
| Measure | Figure |
|---|---|
| Monthly change in asking prices | -0.9% |
| Q3 change in asking prices | -2.0% |
| Year-on-year change in asking prices | -2.5% |
| Mix-adjusted average asking price | £250,971 |
| HAPI index value | 102.8 |
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 | Q3 change | |
|---|---|---|
| Wales | £192,235 | -0.4% |
| North East | £165,627 | -0.9% |
| South West | £263,534 | -1.2% |
| Yorkshire and Humber | £179,193 | -1.3% |
| East Anglia | £258,745 | -1.6% |
| North West | £185,930 | -1.9% |
| West Midlands | £200,871 | -2.0% |
| East Midlands | £182,196 | -2.2% |
| South East | £283,550 | -2.3% |
| Scotland | £174,970 | -2.5% |
| Greater London | £344,170 | -3.2% |
Regional Asking Prices for September 2008, showing losses for Q3 2008.
Read the full September 2008 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 September 2008 edition as published, with punctuation normalised for the web, and are not revised. Later editions may restate them.
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