Average house price in England and Wales is now £162,080

Earlier this month we reported that Nationwide put the average house price in England and Wales at just over £160,000. The Land Registry suggested a similar figure but has now adjusted its calculations and its latest figures show that house prices in December house prices now stand at £162,080, an increase of just under 1%.

Their report also shows there were 1,524 repossessions in England and Wales during October 2012, a decrease from 1,805 over October 2011. All regions saw a decrease in repossessions between October 2011 and October 2012 ranging from 8% in the South East to 35%in the North East.

London experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months, growing by 8.4% and the highest monthly rise, 3.1%, meaning the average price of property in London is £371,223. Within London, the borough with the highest annual price rise was Kensington and Chelsea, up 13.4%.

The hightest annual price rise in December was 20.3% in Merthyr Tydfil, with Hartlepool experiencing the biggest drop at -6.8%

Overall, prices in the North West fell the most, by 3.5% year on year and by just under 1% over the previous month. The number of properties sold for more than £1 million in October 2012 increased by 14 per cent to 623 from 548 in October 2011.

Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “The national average masks significant regional differences, with prices falling in parts of the country and London continuing to outperform the rest. We expect this situation to continue this year. On the lending front, the picture is much more positive with some of the cheapest mortgages ever seen. Lenders continue to cut rates and offer more choice at higher loan-to-values. Lending volumes are slowing ticking up month by month, with renewed vigour from lenders keen to do more lending this year than last.

“There was a welcome drop in the number of repossessions but any repossession is one too many. It is also worrying that so many can be repossessed while interest rates are at historic lows. More needs to be done, and lenders need to continue to show forbearance towards borrowers. There is a lot riding on the Government’s Funding for Lending scheme in terms of opening up the market and making it easier to buy if you have a more modest deposit. It is no overnight solution but a slow burner, yet the early signs are encouraging.”

For more on property prices see Monday’s blog post House prices hold up best in cities.

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• spacedmonkey

  still way to high needs to fall another twenty – fourty thousand to become sensible prices. But this wont happen fast because of the banks and developers

• natly

  What they don’t mention is that the ‘cheapest mortgages ever seen’ are not available to first time buyers – they are for investors with big deposits – and this is the reason that normal working people are being priced out of the market by buy to let investors. The lending industry don’t care what damage they are doing to society as long as they can make a fast and virtually risk free buck.

• snozzle123

  We wouldn’t be celebrating the increase in price of any other commodity.

• snozzle123

  The Government too. Propping up property is a political necessity.