House sale volumes drop by over a third in 2005 |
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Published
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Wed, 11 May 2005 08:55
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After reports of the property market stagnating in April, fresh figures released this week disclose that volumes of property sales in England and Wales plummeted by more than one third last year.
Furthermore, figures published in a Land Registry study revealed that about 159,116 properties were sold during the first quarter of 2005, which was a massive 35% less than the 243,914 number of houses sold in the past year over the same quarter.
The research showed that house sales in London declined by 36% with the rate of house inflation remaining 9.83% all through the year till March 31. This only signified the continuing slowdown in the property market.
| Nevertheless, other parts of England and Wales witnessed substantial rises in property rates, with North England registering a 16.86% price increase and Wales having 16.02% price growth. These rates were among the maximum price rate growths regionally.
Houses in Merthyr Tydfil showed one of the highest price rises with an increase in property rates by 44% while Blaenau Gwent followed next with prices inflating by 30%. Alternatively, in one of the minimum price rises in the region, the Vale of Glamorgan recorded a meagre 1% property rise in the first three months.
Average house prices in the first quarter, according to the Land Registry study, were around £183,486 against the £166,404 figure in the past year. The average price rise across the country was 10.27%.
David Stubbs, economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said, “On a regional basis, the figures show a broad based slowdown. Northern regions that were experiencing particularly rapid increases last year have seen their markets cool quickly. House price inflation in southern England is lower than the national average, reflecting the stronger impact of interest rate rises on households with the greatest debt burden.”
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