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After announcing a ten-month high in house price inflation for March last week, Nationwide released its first quarter report yesterday crediting the housing market with a ‘spring bounce’ right across the UK.
The report says house price growth accelerated in all regions of the UK in the first quarter of this year and house prices in London outpaced the UK for the first time in four years.
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Quarterly index – Headlines |
Q1 2006 |
Q4 2005 |
Q3 2005 |
Q2 2005 |
|
UK All Properties Index
(Q1 1993 =100)* |
323.4 |
316.1 |
311.7 |
311.4 |
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Quarterly change* |
2.3% |
1.4% |
0.1% |
1.0% |
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Annual change |
4.9% |
3.2% |
2.7% |
6.1% |
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Average price in quarter |
£160,319 |
£157,387 |
£157,627 |
£157,494 |
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* seasonally adjusted |
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Commenting on the figures Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s group economist, said: "House price growth in the UK accelerated into the first quarter of 2006. Prices increased by 2.3% since Q4 2005, the fastest quarterly increase since Q3 2004. Compared with the first quarter of 2005 prices are 4.9% higher, making the price of a typical house in the UK £160,319."
"The annual rate of house price growth increased in all of the UK regions in the first quarter, but the fastest growth was in Northern Ireland where prices rose by 17.6% - more than three and a half times faster than the UK average. The slowest growth was in the Northern region where prices increased by 0.5% to £123,483 – only about a tenth of the UK rate."
House prices in Northern Ireland pull away
Over the last year house prices in Northern Ireland increased by a remarkable 17.6% - more than three and a half times the average rate of growth in the UK. The price of a typical house in the Province has now jumped above those in Scotland and the Northern region, and at £129,321 is no longer the cheapest place to buy in the in the UK.
And London shows signs of recovery
The London market continued to show some signs of recovery in the first quarter with increases in the rate of growth of price on both an annual and quarterly basis. Prices in the capital increased by 2.2% in the quarter and 5% over the year.
This is the first time in four years that the annual rate of growth of house prices in London was above the UK average. House price growth in the Outer South East and Outer Metropolitan regions also picked up in the first quarter, although growth here still remains below the UK average.
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Regional Headlines |
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Average price Q1 2006 |
Annual % change Q1 2006 |
Quarterly % change (seasonally adjusted) Q1 2006 |
Quarterly % change (seasonally adjusted) |
Q4 2005 all properties index 1993 Q1 =100 (sa) |
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Northern |
£123,483 |
0.5% |
3.2% |
-2.3% |
271.8 |
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Yorkshire & Humberside |
£142,424 |
5.7% |
2.1% |
2.0% |
294.2 |
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North West |
£147,805 |
5.0% |
2.2% |
1.3% |
289.0 |
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East Midlands |
£143,840 |
1.5% |
1.7% |
-0.3% |
320.7 |
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West Midlands |
£153,063 |
2.3% |
2.4% |
0.1% |
296.3 |
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East Anglia |
£162,386 |
2.4% |
0.6% |
1.6% |
323.2 |
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Outer S East |
£187,716 |
3.4% |
1.5% |
1.0% |
347.8 |
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Outer Met |
£222,549 |
2.8% |
1.8% |
0.7% |
324.0 |
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London |
£245,755 |
5.1% |
2.2% |
0.7% |
370.0 |
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South West |
£180,974 |
4.7% |
2.3% |
1.9% |
338.7 |
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Wales |
£141,401 |
3.0% |
3.3% |
-1.0% |
293.0 |
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Scotland |
£122,363 |
9.7% |
3.3% |
3.2% |
236.5 |
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N Ireland |
£129,321 |
17.6% |
4.0% |
5.4% |
378.5 |
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UK |
£160,319 |
4.9% |
2.3% |
1.4% |
323.4 |
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Source: Nationwide |
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