House sales reach seven year high as prices climb another £2,000 in October
11-16-2014
- Uplift in activity outside London drives the number of completed property sales to seven-year high
- House prices climbed 0.7% (or £2,026) in October
- Average value of UK properties has increased by £26,500 or 10.5 per cent in 12 months
By Jane Denton For Thisismoney
The property market is shrugging off the recent slowdown with the number of completed house sales rising to their highest level for seven years, new figures suggest.
House prices climbed another 0.7 per cent - or £2,026 - last month, with the average price of a home in England and Wales now hitting £277,390, LSL Property Services found.
Prices at the top end of the London market continue to fall, as already sky-high prices start to show signs of deterring buyers.
Shrugging of the slowdown: Last month saw the number of completed house sales in the UK reach a seven year high, LSL Property Services says.
Completed sales hit an estimated 90,500 in England and Wales last month, representing a nine per cent increase from September.
August and October saw the highest number of sales recorded in a month since November 2007, when the market was still in pre-recession mode.
Average house prices in England and Wales have risen by £26,500 or 10.5 per cent since October last year. The latest increase marks a new record of sixteen successive months of rising house prices.
However a second recent study suggested falling house prices were having a more significant impact on average prices across the country.
A monthly report from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors suggested property price gains had slipped in the three months to October, with widespread falls in London helping to drive prices down.
David Newnes of Reed Rains and Your Move said: 'This increased level of house sale completions marks a considerable - though laborious - reflection of the increased buyer activity earlier in the year since the recession zapped the energy from the market.
'October saw the highest level of house sales completed in a month since November 2007. In part this was driven by a better throughput of sales that had sat in the pipeline for some time, finally coming through to completion.'
On the up: There were an estimated 90,500 housing transactions in England and Wales last month, representing a 9 per cent increase from September sale levels
On the up: There were an estimated 90,500 housing transactions in England and Wales last month, representing a 9 per cent increase from September sale levels
Where are people buying?
The biggest increase in completed house sales can be seen outside of London. Sales in both the West Midlands and East Midlands have risen 22 per cent in 12 months.
In the North West, the number of completed house sales has risen by over 20 per cent over the past year.
Where are people buying? The biggest increase in the number of completed house sales over the last year can be found outside of London
In the West Midlands, house prices increased by over five per cent in the last year, with the average house price now at £186,934. In the East Midlands, house prices have risen by over six per cent in 12 months, reaching an average of £176,255.
More locally, two areas saw the number of completed sales fall during the last year - Denbighshire, North Wales and Windsor and Maidenhead. Denbighshire has a low volume of property sales, so it only takes a minor change in sales patterns to result in a reduction in properties sold here over the year, according to LSL.
The number of completed property sales in London has only increased by 3 per cent in the last 12 months, compared to an increase of 22 per cent in the West Midlands.
Prices at the top of the London housing market are also starting to fall.
Still desirable or just overpriced? House prices have dropped in some of London's most exclusive enclaves such as Westminster, Richmond and Camden
Over the past month, house prices have dropped in some of London's most exclusive areas including Westminster, Richmond and Camden.
However in lower-priced boroughs such as Lewisham and Haringey prices steadily increased last month.
Average house prices across London increased by only 0.4 per cent in September. This is the smallest monthly increase the capital has seen for 15 months as the pace of inflation continues to cool the market.
Acdata's chairman Dr Peter Williams said: 'The average price of a home in England and Wales continues to be skewed by house prices in Greater London and the south East of England.
'The annual rate of house price inflation falls to 7.4 per cent if Greater London is excluded, and to 5.0 per cent if we exclude both Greater London and the South East.
'Parts of the London housing market are clearly performing quite differently from others, so any generalisations about London as a whole are misplaced. The reality is that London is a market of many parts, which themselves are a small part of the total'.
Skewing the market: The average price of a home in England and Wales continues to be skewed by house prices in Greater London and the South East of England, expert Dr Peter Williams said.