UK House Prices Situation at 6 7 2007: Prices stable in most areas

UK House Prices Forecast: Limited growth with some small falls in prices

Prices Only Rising In 28% England & Wales

New date published by house price information service Hometrack has shown that house price growth has come to a halt in much of England and Wales.

Only 28% of locations in England and Wales saw price increases in June, with the vast majority seeing either no change in prices or a small drop. The Hometrack House Price Index (HPI) indicates that the average house price rose by just 0.3% in June - down from 0.6% in May.

The annualised growth rate also dropped from 6.7% in May to 6.4% in June, and Hometrack director of research Richard Donnell said that be believes that the next few months will see the annual house price growth rate dropping to around the 4% mark as month-on-month growth slows still further.

Donnell also commented that

"It seems likely that the average time to sell will increase in the months ahead, with a slowdown in sales volumes and a switch to a buyers’ market."

The North, North West and Wales all saw average house prices increase by just 0.1% in June, while the East Midlands saw no change at all in prices.

Even London Prices Slowing?

Seventeen of London's thirty-two boroughs saw a fall in the average house price in June, according to new data from property website Rightmove.

Research from Smartnewhomes.com, a website that monitors the prices of new properties, also recorded a drop in London prices. Its data shows that the average price of a new home in London is down 3.7% from its peak in May - although it is still £385,686.