Despite the slight decline, house prices continue to lack any real movement with the current UK average price little changed from where it was at the beginning of 2011. This is with the exception of Northern Ireland, which has experienced strong falls in house prices since 2008.
Seasonally adjusted UK house prices decreased by 0.6 per cent over the month
In the 12 months to March 2012, average house prices decreased by 0.3 per cent in both
England and Scotland and 10.7 per cent in Northern Ireland. These decreases were offset by an
increase of 0.4 per cent in Wales.
The annual decrease in England was driven by decreases in London, which fell by 0.2 per cent,
the South East, which fell by 1.4 per cent, and the North East, which fell by 0.9 per cent. This
was the first year on year decrease in London since October 2009. The largest annual increase
in regional average house prices was 2.2 per cent in the South West of England.
In March 2012, prices paid by first time buyers were 2.8 per cent higher on average than in
March 2011. For owner occupiers the prices decreased by 1.6 per cent in the
same period.
Prices of new dwellings rose by 6.9 per cent during the 12 months to March 2012, while the price of pre-owned dwellings decreased by 0.9 per cent in the same period.
