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UK homes selling at record prices – over £300,000 in England, says ONS
Original Author: Rosalind Renshaw
UK house prices rose by an average of 7.7% in the year to November, the Office for National Statistics has reported.
In England “average mix-adjusted house prices” reached £302,000, while the UK average price of £288,000 set a new record.
If the ONS figure of £288,000 is correct, then it is very close to the current asking price of properties new to the market reported by Rightmove this week to be £290,963.
The ONS says annual house price inflation in November was 8.3% in England, 1.3% in Wales, 0.4% in Scotland and 4.6% in Northern Ireland.
The biggest regional rise in annual house price inflation was the east of England at 10.2% followed by London and the south-east, both with 9.8% rises in average house prices.
Welsh house prices stood at £173,000 in November, at £195,000 in Scotland and £158,000 in Northern Ireland.
In London, the average house price was £537,000, 53% higher than the pre-recession peak. The cheapest average price was in the north-east at an average of £157,000.
Brian Murphy, head of lending at Mortgage Advice Bureau, said: “House prices in November saw the biggest annual increase in eight months, despite traditionally being a quieter time in the housing market.
“Those lucky enough to already be on the property ladder are the clear winners of this boom, as home owners trading up to the next rung take advantage of improving property values. Increased equity means even those not looking to sell can benefit by switching to a more affordable mortgage deal.
“The heat is set to rise in the buy-to-let and second home market in the short-term, as buyers rush to complete before the changes to Stamp Duty kick in in April.
“In the long term, the dearth of properties available combined with rampant demand means house price growth isn’t likely to slow any time soon.
“This creates clear affordability concerns for first-time buyers.”
Separately Hometrack reported this morning that house price growth in the 20 cities it monitors was at its highest for 15 months.
Hometrack said that it currently stands at an average of 11.4%.
Cities where annual house price inflation is more than that are Oxford, Bristol, London and Cambridge.
Only in Aberdeen have house prices actually fallen over the last year.
Out of the 20 cities, 13 have shown continuous growth for over six years.
Hometrack also said that one in five of all house buyers last year were property investors.
