On a seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices increased by 0.7% between July and August 2015, compared with an increase of 0.7% in average prices during the same period a year earlier.
During the year to August 2015, average house prices increased by 5.6% in England (also unchanged from 5.6% in the year to July 2015), 0.8% in Wales (up from 0.3%) and 2.9% in Northern Ireland (down from 7.4%). House prices fell 0.9% in Scotland over the last twelve months (compared with an annual fall of 1.3% last month).
The pace of annual house price growth varied across the 9 English regions in August 2015. Annual house price increases in England were driven by an annual increase in the East (8.8%) and the South East (7.4%).
The North East recovered from an annual fall in house prices in the year to July 2015 (-0.7%) to show annual growth of 2.9% in the year to August.
London prices increased by 4.2% over the year to August 2015 (down from 5.5% in the year to July 2015).
This month, average house prices in 5 of the 9 English regions are at record levels, with prices in Yorkshire and The Humber surpassing the pre-economic downturn peak of January 2008 for the first time.
House prices in the East Midlands, West Midlands and London fell back slightly from the record levels witnessed in July 2015. The North East is the only English region yet to surpass its pre-economic downturn peak (prices in the North East remain 1.7% below the peak of January 2008).
Rishi Passi, CEO, Oblix Capital, commented:
“House prices in London may have come off the boil slightly in August, but there is still some heat in the wider property market, as demand for housing continues to outpace the supply. House prices reached record levels right across the North West, East, South East, South West and Yorkshire and the Humber, putting further pressure on hopeful buyers.
“For developers, the double digit growth seen in London is a hard act to follow, but we’re starting to see pockets of promise right across the country. Regional cities in the South such as Oxford, Bristol, Portsmouth and Southampton are now showing healthy levels of growth, while further north, the likes of Liverpool, Glasgow and Belfast, are starting to see average prices catch up on the highs of 2007.”
Adrian Gill, director of Reeds Rains and Your Move estate agents, added:
“The speed of house price growth across England and Wales may not be setting the world alight, but it’s certainly showing it has stamina – and continues to outdo rises in wages and consumer prices.
“This growth is primarily being underpinned by sturdy demand and solid activity at the bottom of the property ladder. The cheaper northern regions are experiencing the fastest growth in property sales, while a shortage of property stock on the market in the south is slowing activity. The most frequently paid property price across England and Wales is just £125,000, mirroring the level at which stamp duty becomes payable, and reflecting the impetus that has been injected in the first-time buyer market recently. It is also the lower to mid-range properties priced between £180,000 and £360,000 which are seeing the fastest increases in value, while the shift in stamp duty bands continues to slow growth at the higher end of the market, and prices above £600,000 are largely stationary."
