MortgagesJun 26 2015

London and south east continue to drive property prices

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London and south east continue to drive property prices

Annual house prices have increased 4.6 per cent for the 12 months to May, with London and the south east driving the increase, new data from the Land Registry has shown.

The average house price in England and Wales stood at £179,696 in May, however in London the average property price was £475,961.

London and the south east were the regions with the most significant annual price increase, jumping by 9.1 per cent.

Wales saw the only annual price fall with a decrease of 0.6 per cent.

Elsewhere, the east and north east experienced the greatest monthly price increase with a movement of 1.6 per cent and Wales also saw the largest monthly decrease with a fall of 1.7 per cent.

The data also revealed over the last year, the number of property transactions has decreased.

From December 2013 to March 2014 there was an average of 69,282 sales per month and in the same months a year later, the figure was 61,789.

Andy Knee, chief executive of LMS, said it is welcome to see areas outside London and the south east see increases.

He said: “These areas were hard hit by the crash and many will only now be starting to see their property values return to previous prices. This means they may now finally escape being mortgage prisoners, offering the opportunity to remortgage and boost incomes.

“More worryingly, however, is that the average monthly number of property transactions has decreased substantially year on year from March 2014 to March 2015.

“We anticipate that figures later on in the year – particularly from May onwards – will see a rise but the market should not become complacent. Supply and affordable housing remains critical to the long-term security of the market and needs to be addressed.”

ruth.gillbe@ft.com