Land Registry reports 0.3% fall in house prices in April

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by Kay Murchie

According to the Land Registry, house prices fell by 0.3% in April in England and Wales and follows on from a 0.2% fall the previous month, and takes the annual rate of decline to 16.2%.

The Land Registry puts the average home at £152,898 in April, wiping off almost £30,000 off the average property in a year.

In comparison, Hometrack has today reported that house prices remained unchanged in May, while just last week, the Nationwide reported a rise in prices of 1.2% in May.

However, it must be noted that the Land Registry compiles its data from completed transactions and therefore lags behind other monitors of the housing market but is seen as the most authoritative.

Commenting on today’s figures, the Land Registry said: “Although property prices are still falling, the speed of the fall has been fairly static over the last couple of months.”

However, many commentators caution that rising unemployment and the ongoing tightening of lending criteria means house prices are likely to resume their downward spiral.

Meanwhile, the Land Registry said that the number of properties sold between November 2008 and February 2009 averaged just 31,315 per month, compared with 75,374 in the same period of the previous year.

It must also be noted that mortgage lending is still 60% down on last year since without a significant deposit, first-time buyers are still unable to get a foot on the property ladder.