House prices fall or rise (take your pick)

House prices went up slightly – by 0.4% – in July, the Land Registry has reported. It brings the average property value in England and Wales to £166,798.

But a separate survey published at exactly the same time found that house prices went down 0.1% in July and dropped a further -3% in August.

The disparity underlines why the Government has called in its chief statistician to probe the house price indices.

According to the Land Registry, in July there was the strongest growth since January, although there was great regional variation. House prices rose in London and Brighton, for example, but fell in Cardiff and Bath.

The Land Registry also reported an increase in transactions. In February to May 2009, there was an average of 36,947 sales per month. In the same months this year, the figure was 48,219.

However, a different picture is painted by the Hometrack survey, which is based on responses from over 5,100 estate agents and surveyors. It found that falling demand and lower prices are “more than a seasonal blip” and that “re-pricing of housing” is under way.

Along with the second successive price fall for a month, it found that new applicants fell by 2.2% compared with a 2.4% rise in property listings. Houses are also taking longer to sell, at 8.9 weeks.

Whilst the Land Registry acknowledges in some detail the regional variations, the Hometrack survey says that prices rose in only 3.3% of postcode districts. In particular, it says that house prices in London fell – for the fourth consecutive month – by 0.4% in August. By contrast, the Land Registry said prices in July rose by 1.6%.

Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said: “The housing market is in the process of a modest re-pricing that is likely to run for the next six to 12 months. The signs of a slowdown and price falls have been building since the election was called, back in April. This monthly survey of over 5,000 agents provides a strong litmus test from the front line of the housing market.”

Meanwhile, asking prices of more expensive properties have fallen 0.3% on Primelocation.

The site says there has been a 6.7% rise in prime property coming on to the market, the seventh consecutive monthly increase, but that demand has reduced. The steepest price falls were in the South-West and west London.

In another indicator, estate agency signboard supplier Agency Express reckoned that transactions in August increased by 0.9% over July.

For the previous two months, the company reported declining house sales.

The number of houses ‘Sold’ in August was the fourth highest month in 2010, and compared to August 2009, monthly house sales were up 6.2% – and against August 2008, they were up 50.7%.

Locally, there has been a notable increase in the number of properties coming onto the market, but not a corresponding increase in buyers. However those buyers that are looking (and there are some) are generally of high quality and keen to buy now.

We are finding that buyers are typically viewing between 15-30 properties before making a decision and, because they have this amount of choice, are often starting with an offer of 10-15% below the asking price (which must be reasonable or they won't view in the first place).

Some homeowners are accepting these offers and are able to move on, but many others ignore them in the hope of obtaining a better offer from someone else.

This, depending on the individual circumstances, can be a costly mistake as we find that in many cases home owners have to wait for an extended period of time for a second buyer and then sell for a lower figure that that offered by the first buyer.

We have a useful guide to succesfully selling your home. If you would like a copy, just send us an email to info@blakesestateagents.com with "7 Reasons" as the subject and we will send it to you free.