Land Registry Sees December Fall In House Prices

Land Registry figures have shown the first monthly drop in house prices since August 2005.

The figures show that a home in England and Wales fell by 0.4% on average in December, taking the average cost of a home down to £184,469.

House prices indices such as those from Nationwide Building Society and the Halifax have shown a downward trend in recent months, but it is the first time the Land Registry has seen a fall in average house prices for two and a half years.

The December figures took annual house price inflation down 6.7% for the year by Land Registry figures. In December 2006 annual house price inflation was 7.77% and it peaked in 2007 at 9.7% in August.

All regions in England and Wales saw a fall, apart from three. London, the East and the North East all saw rises, the latter seeing a jump of 2.2%. The biggest fall in any region was in the East Midlands with a 3.3% drop; Wales saw a fall of 2.1%.

In December London prices saw a 0.6% rise, greater than the average across the country. London had a relatively high annual change of 14.3%, mainly due to very high monthly increases at the beginning of 2007. In that period London saw very high growth. In comparison the last quarter has seen growth rates at far more modest levels. London’s average house price for December 2007 still stands well above the national average, at £354,625.

In annual terms, London had the highest inflation at 14.3%, whereas the East Midlands had the lowest with a rise of just 0.5%. There are ten regions in all: North East, East, London, Yorkshire & The Humber, West Midlands, North West, South West, South East, Wales, East Midlands.

In London, the borough with the highest annual price increase in 2007 was Kensington and Chelsea, rising by 2%. The boroughs with the highest monthly price increases in December were Lewisham and Tower Hamlets, at 16%. Newham had the lowest annual growth in London of 7%