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Property asking prices in London are still increasing and have helped push up the average prices of a UK home for the tenth month in a row, according to the latest index figures. Overall average asking prices increased by 0.2% in October and 8.2% year on year, taking the average asking price to £267,466. But outside of London home prices fell in all English regions except the East Midlands and the South East, Scotland and Wales. The Asking Price Index from Home.co.uk says that coupled with last month’s rise of 1.1% it puts London back on a rising trend following a dip in the summer which it says was caused by a correction in prime property prices. The supply of property for sale in Greater London is up by 54% compared to October last year but the typical London property is now 15% more expensive. But excluding London, the UK property market is cooling in line with seasonal expectations, the index report says. Prices are edging back in most regions after what was a solid year, especially in the South but prices continue to stagnate in the North. The worst performing region over the last six months has been the North East with a fall of 0.9% since May. The firm describes this as ‘a very poor performance’ for what has been the best year for UK property prices since the onset of the financial crisis. Wales, the North West and Scotland are not much better and only just managed to keep in positive territory. ‘Within those areas, it is only the more upmarket locations that are supporting the regional averages,’ the report explains. Across the UK, supply of property for sale is steadily increasing but remains historically low. The number of properties that entered the market last month was 14% higher than during October 2013. ‘Areas of great demand, such as London, will be less sensitive to rising demand, while Scotland, which has a much weaker property market, has registered an annual rise of 18% in the number of properties for sale. This will likely thwart further price rises in 2015 north of the border,’ the report points out. ‘In Wales and the other English regions, we have observed only minor increases in the volume of sales properties coming onto the market,’ it adds. The data also shows that the average mix-adjusted 12 month change in asking prices for England and Wales reached a maximum in June at 9.6% and this is steadily falling back. The average year on year price change trend for England and Wales reflects an end to the accelerating price growth observed over most of the last two years. The firm says that annualised gains are being eroded in the current cooler market, and it expects this gentle downtrend to continue into 2015. Continue reading →
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