December saw an annual price increase of 7.0% which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £177,766, the Land Registry has revealed.
House prices were up 0.6% since November. Meanwhile, repossession volumes decreased by 37% in October 2014 to 796 compared with 1,260 in October 2013.
The region in England and Wales which experienced the greatest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 16.3%. London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with a movement of 1.8%.
The North West saw the lowest annual price growth with a movement of 1.5% and the region also saw the most significant monthly price fall of 1.6%.
The most up-to-date figures available show that during October 2014 the number of completed house sales in England & Wales increased by 4% to 80,158 compared with 77,371 in October 2013.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in October 2014 increased by 15% to 1,132 from 984 in October 2013.
The region with the greatest fall in repossession sales in October 2014 was the South East.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “The Land Registry is just the latest index to show that house-price growth is slowing ad with the BBA pointing to a dip in lending as well, the market is definitely more subdued. That said, the CML pointed out that 2014 was the best year for mortgage lending since 2008 and while we expect the housing market to be quieter over the next few months, we still predict lending in the region of £215bn for the year, compared with £205bn last year.
“While first-time buyers were a key driver of the market last year, we expect the remortgaging market to be strong over the next 12 months with borrowers not so much fearing a rate rise but enticed by some of the astonishingly cheap deals now available.
“With this month’s minutes from the Monetary Policy Committee revealing that the Bank of England’s two hawks have dropped their calls for an interest rate rise, it seems unlikely that we will see rates go up this year, or even next. With inflation falling to 0.5 per cent in December, it’s lowest level in nearly 15 years, the pressure is off the rate setters to move rates.
“Lenders have already reacted to falling Swap rates with record low mortgage rates. With ten-year fixes now available from just 2.94 per cent, an exceptionally cheap deal for such certainty, more and more borrowers will be tempted to commit for the longer term. The next step is for lenders to start easing criteria rather than cutting rates, a move we hope to see this year.”
