House prices down 0.2% since November

Average house prices in England and Wales decreased by 0.2 per cent during December, which could be good news for people trying to secure the best mortgage rates.

Despite the small decrease, the December data from the Land Registry's House Price Index showed an annual price increase of 1.5 per cent, taking the average value of a property in England and Wales to £163,418.

The region with the highest annual price change is London with an increase of 6.2 per cent and the capital also experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of one per cent in December 2010.

House prices in the north-east saw the greatest annual fall with a movement of -3.3 per cent.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, recently said that the housing market is still highly uncertain but he believes the likely outcome is low transaction rates and prices moving sideways or slightly lower.

The most up-to-date figures show that during October 2010, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales dropped by 15 per cent to £55,964 from £65,736 in October 2009.
 

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2011-02-02 10:46:12 © Moneyextra.com