House prices gain in June
HOUSE prices have risen for the first time month-on-month since January last year, according to the Land Registry’s latest survey.
In the latest sign of stability in the housing market, homes in England and Wales rose in value in June by 0.1 per cent to £153,046 on average, the authoritative survey found.
The survey said house prices in London are now up two per cent in the last twelve months, one of the best performances in the country.
The figures show a “flattening” of prices, the group said, but the value of the average home is still down 14 per cent on the same month last year underscoring the devastation of property values by the financial crisis.
“As the monthly increase is only 0.1 per cent, the movement does not signal a return to solid growth, but rather flattening prices,” the report said.
Isolated areas have seen price rises this year, including London and the South East, which is up 0.3 per cent.
Global Insight economist Howard Archer said: “We remain far from convinced that house prices have bottomed out.” The data measures house price changes by surveying completed sales, rather than using mortgage data which can be misleading.