House price growth stays steady, says ONS

At £298,000 on average, house prices across England are at an all-time high, the ONS said, after increasing by 5.6 per cent over the past year.

The average United Kingdom mix-adjusted house price was GBP 284,000 in August versus GBP 282,000 in the previous month.

House prices increased by 5.6% in England, 0.8% in Wales, 2.9% in Northern Ireland and fell 0.9% in Scotland, according to the figures from the Office of National Statistics (ONS).

The ONS said that while the 5.2% annual headline rate was the joint lowest since September 2013, the ongoing shortage of housing supply combined with strengthening demand suggested upward pressure on house prices remained.

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Annual house price growth was led by an 8.8 percent increase in the East and 7.4 percent rise in the South East.

Nevertheless, average London prices of £522,000 were still the highest by far anywhere in the country.

London homeowners are being forced to make dramatic price reductions to sell their properties as George Osborne’s stamp duty shake-up continues to send shockwaves through the market, the Evening Standard has learned.

In Wales, property values are also below their record level seen in January, standing at £174,000 on average in August after edging up by 0.8 per cent annually.

The North and North West regions experienced the biggest year-on-year increase in property sales.

He said that, in London, the more affordable boroughs were driving the market rather than the most expensive areas.

Of the 10,182 homes advertised for more than £1million on the Zoopla property website, or 18 per cent, have had their prices cut, the Standard reported.

“A number of indicators suggest that supply remains weak, with the lack of homes available for sale increasing competition and supporting prices”.

As for buy-to-let, there was £1.9billion worth of remortgaging activity – down 14 per cent from July, but up a staggering 73 per cent from last August. “He saw it with a view to making an offer then lost £300,000 in one day and had to pull out”.

According to Zoopla, of the 111 properties on the market for more than £10 million, 24 have had their prices cut – by an average of £2.3 million.

As always, the UK’s growth was driven by the South East, where prices were up 7.4 per cent, and the East, where prices were up 8.8 per cent. Excluding London and the South East, United Kingdom house prices increased by 4.8 per cent over the period.

“It is also the lower to mid-range properties priced between £180,000 and £360,000 which are seeing the fastest increases in value, while the shift in stamp duty bands continues to slow growth at the higher end of the market, and prices above £600,000 are largely stationary”.