HPI data reveals change in transaction numbers

HPI data reveals change in transaction numbers

There has been a 0.8% rise in home sales between October and November 2016 according to recent data from the UK House Price Index (HPI).Compared to November 2015, this figure is 7.3% lower.

The number of completed house sales can also be compared by using the latest Land Registry data. Across both England and Wales, a decline in sales can be observed when looking at the number which occurred in September 2016 and those which took place during the same period in 2015.

In England, the number of completed house sales dropped to 64,311. Compared to September 2015’s figure of 82,452, this is a fall of 22%.

London’s completed house sales were over a third lower than the same time last year. September 2016 saw a total 6,698 sales in comparison to September 2015 where completed sales reached 11,065. This is a fall of 39.5%.

For Wales, the total completed house sales was 3,492 in September 2016, whereas 2015’s figure for the same month was 3,896. This is a 10.4% drop.

During September 2016, there were 607 repossession sales in England with the majority taking place in the North West (162). The fewest occurred in the East of England, where repossessions totalled just 9.

In Wales, September 2016 saw a total of 63 repossessions.

In regards to house prices, the UK November HPI data indicates an annual increase of 6.7%, taking the average UK property value to £217,928.

For England, the same data has shown an annual price rise of 7.2%, bringing the total average property value to £234,278. Since October, this is a rise of 1.1%.

The annual price growth for Wales has reached 4.1% according to the HPI data, taking the average price of a property to £146,742. In monthly terms however, since October there has been a drop in prices of 0.2%.

Commenting on the figures was Andy Sommerville. The Director at Search Acumen highlighted the potential for 2017 to be a more promising year for first time buyers.

“Another significant year-on-year increase in house prices is naturally daunting news to the pool of first time buyers already struggling to get a grasp on the housing ladder. The average house price in the UK rose by £14,000 in the year to November, continuing the upward trend seen since 2013. However, the future could be looking brighter as we enter a new year, with worries surrounding construction output taking a positive turn.”

“Last week’s encouraging outlook from the construction output data has given a glimmer of hope for those previously pessimistic about our housing shortage and paints a positive picture for the wider UK economy. Prices have indeed continued to rise but the 12.5% increase in private housebuilding in the year to November is no doubt a step in the right direction to tackle the gap between supply and demand.”

Mr Somerville went on stress the importance of focussing on current issues rather than being concerned over predictions of uncertainty.

“It is vital that this momentum we have seen in the past couple of months is fervently kept up and the ball continues to roll into 2017. Whether we like it or not, our economy’s future will only become clearer as we establish what the Brexit journey will look like. But for now, we can learn from the past year that we should focus our efforts on the immediate problems in our industry rather than predicting what the future holds and a strong housing supply will prove indispensable for market hopefuls through these times.”

 

 

Georgia Owen

Georgia is the Content Executive and will be your primary contact when submitting your latest news. While studying for an LLB at the University of Liverpool, Georgia gained experience working within retail, as well as social media management. She later went on to work for a local newspaper, before starting at Today’s Conveyancer.

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