Figures from the Nationwide Building Society House Prices Index show house price fell 1% on average over 2012 - although those figures vary considerably across the United Kingdom.
In Northern Ireland, for example, the average house price fell 9.3% to £107,719 from September 2011 to September 2012 whilst in London the average house price rose 2.1% to £301,168.
Scotland and Wales were the other largest fallers with -4% and -4.7% respectively.
Here are the main points:
- Price of a typical home declined by 0.1% in December
- Overall in 2012 the price of a typical home declined by 1%, reversing the 1% increase recorded in 2011
- The typical UK home is now worth £162,262
- Within England, the North/South divide in property prices continued to widen
- View the Nationwide December Press Release here
Most regions saw price falls during 2012
- 11 out of 13 UK regions saw annual price falls during 2012
- London best performing region in 2012
- Northern Ireland continued to see largest price falls
- Within England, the North/South divide in property prices continued to widen
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
“Average UK house prices rose by 0.5% in the final quarter of 2012, after allowing for seasonal effects. Prices were down 1.1% over the year as a whole.
“England continued to outperform the other home nations, with prices down 0.4% in annual terms.
“Wales was second, with prices down 2.7% over the year, while Scotland saw prices fall by 3.3% compared with Q4 2011. Northern Ireland remained at the bottom of the table, with prices down 8.2% on an annual basis.
“Amongst the English regions, London was again the best performing area, with prices up 0.7% compared with Q4 2012. The South West was the only other region to record price growth over the year, with the rest seeing small declines.
“With the exception of East Anglia, the South of England and the Midlands outperformed the North of England. Yorkshire & Humberside was the weakest performing English region, with prices down 2.5% over the year.
“Within England, the North/South divide in property prices continued to widen, with the price of a typical home in the South now around £95,000 more than in the North, a new high and around 2% more than at the close of 2011”.
Landscaping and house values
It is widely accepted that a buoyant landscaping market is linked directly and inextricably to a buoyant housing market.
When house prices rise a home-owner (or builder) maybe willing to spend heavy on landscaping to enable them to sell a property more quickly.
Despite landscaping still being a sensible investment during a recession, expensive restorations, renovation or a complete re-build is often not considered with home-owners opting for a cheaper garden tidy up instead.
We can get a better feel when Marshalls interim trading figures are released tomorrow Friday 04 January 2012.
(click to enlarge infographic)
Comments