House Price Update 14 December 2011

UK House Prices Situation: Prices down slightly on one year ago

UK House Prices Forecast: Market likely to remain weak in 2012

House Prices Down 0.9% in November – Halifax

House prices fell by 0.9% in November, according to the latest house price index from Halifax. This leaves the annual change at -1.0%; given that inflation is running at 4%-5%, this means houses are considerably cheaper in real terms than they were one year ago.

Commenting on the figures, Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said that:

"Overall, house prices have remained remarkably stable in 2011 despite the difficult and deteriorating economic climate and the substantial pressure on households' finances.  The UK average price now is only marginally lower than at the end of 2010."

The Halifax figures also showed a slight improvement in housing market activity levels. The number of mortgages approved to finance house purchases was up 3% in October and was 13% higher than in October 2010.

London Only Region to See Growth in 2011

London has been the only region of the UK to see growth in house prices in 2011, according to the latest LSL Acadametrics House Price Index. The LSL HPI uses Land Registry sale price data from every residential property transaction in the UK to produce its figures.

LSL's latest report shows that UK house prices fell by an average of 0.7% in the year to November, but that London house prices have risen by an average of 3.1% over the year. Despite this, if the London housing market is looked at borough-by-borough, 14 of the capital's 33 boroughs have recorded a fall in house prices over the last year. The City of Westminster has fared best, with a 12.6% annual rise this year. At the other end of the spectrum, Barnet has suffered most, with house prices dropping by an average of 7.1% over the last year.

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

.