Insurance News Archive
Buy to let insurance: House prices dip for first time in 12 months
Posted by Michael Brown
May figures from the Land Registry's House Price Index have revealed a 0.2 per cent drop in property values – the first negative monthly movement since April 2009.
The new statistics still present an overall positive picture, however, showing an annual price increase of 8.2 per cent.
This represents the seventh consecutive month in which the yearly figure has been positive and takes the average property value in England and Wales to £165,314.
All regions in England and Wales experienced increases in their average house values over the last 12 months, though the region which saw the highest change was London, with a rise of 14.2 per cent.
Howard Archer, an economist at research firm IHS Global Insight, told Reuters that house prices "will struggle to make significant gains over the coming months".
He added that housing market activity "remains well below long-term norms", despite recently showing slight signs of improvement, due to "high unemployment" and "tight" economic conditions.
28 Jun 2010
