UK House Prices Situation at 11 5 2007: Sub-inflation growth in most areas, London & SE remain buoyant

UK House Prices Forecast: Continued slow growth in most areas, London & surrounding area continuing to rise

Regional Variations Reveal Full House Price Story

Property website Hometrack's latest house price survey shows the average UK house price up by 0.7 per cent in April and 6.8 per cent in the year since April 2006.

But we all know that the average house does not exist – so what does it mean for your area? Well, London and the south-east are continuing to push ahead with London prices rising by 14.2 per cent over the last year and prices in the south-east (outside the M25) rising by a generous 7.2 per cent.

Elsewhere in the country, the picture is rather more restrained – in fact over the last year, most areas have seen house price inflation fall into line with or below overall inflation:

• East Midlands: 0.9%
• West Midlands: 2.3%
• Yorkshire & Humberside: 1.3%
• North: 0.9%
• North West: 1.6%
• East Anglia: 5.7%
• Wales: 2.7%
• South West: 4.6%

These figures reveal just how much house price inflation is being driven from the capital – and show how the housing market has slowed down in most areas of the country, albeit after having reached record levels.

New Mortgage Lending Figures Show Reduction In Sales

New data from the British Bankers' Association shows that the level of mortgage lending in March was substantially below that seen in March 2006. There was an overall drop in mortgage approvals of just over 8 per cent, with a 12.3 per cent drop in new mortgages.

Despite this fall, increased house prices meant that the total amount lent in new mortgage loans in March was up by 5 per cent on the same month last year.

Analysts expect mortgage lending to continue to weaken through 2007, reflecting weaker demand.