House Price Update to 13 July 2011

UK House Prices Situation: Falling everywhere except London

UK House Prices Forecast: More of the same – only wealthy areas may prosper

Halifax & Nationwide Report June Stagnation

The latest house price indices from Halifax and Nationwide both report little change in house prices in June.

Halifax and Nationwide – two of the largest mortgage lenders in the UK – base their indices on their mortgage lending, providing a large but not complete snapshot of house market activity in the UK.

Halifax reported a fall of 0.5% in house prices in June, while Nationwide's index showed no change in average house prices in June – suggesting that the usual summer peak in activity has not materialised this year. Nationwide's report confirmed this, reporting "subdued" demand and "sluggish" new buyer enquiries.

House Prices Falling Everywhere But London – RICS

Upwards pressure on house prices in London is continuing while house prices everywhere else weaken, according to the latest Housing Market Survey from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).

RICS reported a headline price balance of -27% this month, meaning that 27% more surveyors are reporting falling prices than rising prices. Excluding London, this balance falls further to -35%, highlighting the effect the capital has on house price statistics.

Of those surveyors reporting price falls, 78% reported falls of no more than 2%. In England and Wales, the West Midlands has faired worst with nearly 60% more surveyors reporting falling prices than rising prices over the last three months.

In a further sign of lacklustre market activity, new vendor instructions fell sharply in June too, with the net balance falling from +14 to +1, meaning that fewer new properties are coming to the market. Despite this, the number of unsold properties on surveyors' books did fall slightly in June, dropping from an average of 71.7 to 69.5.

Read about UK House Price indexes / key statistics that track the ups and downs of house prices

Read our take on the Credit Crisis the effect on UK House Prices and Mortgages. A Special Report

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