Land Registry: House prices under strain

The Land Registry has given credence to a slew of recent reports which indicate UK and London property prices are heading south.

According to the executive agency, annual house price growth across the country slowed from 3.6 per cent to 2.7 per cent in April, bolstering claims that the housing market is markedly weakened.

While the public body's latest index found that London's annual house price growth remains at 6.8 per cent, that marks a 0.5 per cent fall against the level of growth seen in March.

Furthermore, the Land Registry's figures are based on actual property sales as opposed to asking prices, with other reports from Nationwide and Halifax indicating a far more severe negative downswing.

The government's official figures now say the average property value for flats and houses for sale in London stands at £350,925 - markedly higher than the national figure of £183,626.

The London borough with the highest recorded pace of annual price increase is Hackney, where property values rose by 18.6 per cent.

News posted on 30th May, 2008