-June house prices up 0.1 per cent since May: average house price in England and Wales now £161,777
-South East tops the table of regional applications with 222,280 in June
-Over 50,000 residential property sale prices in England and Wales lodged for registration in June
-The region in England and Wales which experienced the highest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 6.3 per cent.
-Wales experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 2.5 per cent.
-Yorkshire & The Humber experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 1.9 per cent.
-Yorkshire & The Humber also saw the most significant monthly price fall with a decrease of 0.3 per cent.
-The most up-to-date figures available show that during April 2012, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales decreased by 19 per cent to
41,244 compared with 50,721 in April 2011.
-The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in April 2012 decreased by 43 per cent to 468 from 825 in April 2011.
Richard Sexton, director of e.surv chartered surveyors, commented:
“It’s a two-speed housing market. In the fast lane are equity-rich buyers who are piling into the market to take advantage of seductively low prices and even lower interest rates. In contrast, the first-time buyer market is in a state of unprecedented gridlock. It’s been beaten into near-paralysis by tight mortgage criteria and fewer loans to borrowers with low deposits. With conditions for first-timers so harsh, the best the market can hope for is to stagger on and pray banks begin lending more prodigiously than they are now. Prices are only being supported by an unhealthy reliance on purchases made by wealthy buyers, which is hardly something to celebrate. With the economy stalling and the eurozone crisis rumbling on, things could well get worse before they get better.”
Paul Hunt, managing director of Phoebus Software said:
“In the context of the challenging economy and lending environment, a rise in house prices is to be welcomed. However, diminishing number of transactions provides a pause for thought for anyone who believes improving house prices marks a recovery in the market. The worsening eurozone crisis is hampering lenders ability to provide high LTV mortgages for first time, and this continues to rein in activity in the market. But that’s not to say there are not attractive mortgage deals out there at all. Lenders are still striving to provide affordable rates, and buyers with healthy deposits have been able to take advantage. If the funding for lending scheme is successful, and a growing number of lenders circumvent more costly avenues of funding, we could see an improved number of affordable products targeted at first-time buyers, buoying the market.”
Peter Rollings, CEO of estate agent Marsh & Parsons, comments:
“A shortage of supply may be helping prop up prices nationwide, but the true thermometer for the national housing market is the number of sales taking place. By this measure, the national market is far from fighting fit - even allowing for the disruptive end of the stamp duty rush. Tight lending criteria continues to thwart underlying buyer demand, at a time when consumer spending power is already under pressure. If lenders’ concerns about the ongoing eurozone crisis trump the impact of the funding for lending scheme, lending to new borrowers is unlikely to recover significantly, and credit worthy would-be buyers will continue to save for higher deposits and pay down debts rather than move.
“London has been at the forefront of any climb in house prices since the initial recession, insulated by its higher level of cash buyers, and June was no different. Nearly two-thirds of buyers in prime central London are purchasing without a mortgage, and this wealth is still filtering out. While dwindling level of available property is reining in overall sales figures, robust demand from overseas investors has helped recession-proof the capital’s prices since we entered the double-dip.”
