London house prices avoid national drop
HOUSE prices fell for the third consecutive month in November, official data showed yesterday.
However, in London prices actually rose by 0.9 per cent compared to October with the average house price standing at £340,013, the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) reported.
Across the UK as a whole, prices dropped by 0.1 per cent. And average house prices were 0.6 per cent lower in the three months to November.
The decline reduced the average UK house price to £208,585.
But excluding London and the South East, the average UK price in November was just £173,203.
Month-on-month prices across the UK also fell by 0.1 per cent in October, and by 0.8 per cent in September, the data showed.
Compared to the same time in 2009, prices were up four per cent in November – yet this was lower than October’s yearly increase of 5.5 per cent.
The decline in house prices was reflected in figures also released yesterday by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
While RICS reported a slowdown in falling prices, some economists think the housing marking has a little way to go before bottoming out.
“Given that house prices have already fallen by some three per cent on the Nationwide and Halifax measures, we believe that they will fall by around seven per cent in 2011,” commented Howard Archer of IHS Global Insight.
FAST FACTS | AVERAGE HOUSE PRICES
England: £216,065 Scotland: £164,098
N. Ireland: £157,336 Wales: £150,374
North East England has the lowest prices of any region: £134,293
London has the highest average: £340,013