House prices rise but market slows

Fewer houses are being sold

The average house price in England and Wales increased by nearly 20% during the past year, official figures show.

The Land Registry said prices were 19.7% higher during the first three months of this year than a year earlier.

The average property was worth £145,897 between January and March compared with £121,881 at the same time in 2002.

But the cost of a typical home in the first three months of 2003 is now slightly lower than six months ago, when the average house price cost £146,150 - and only up 0.2% on the previous quarter.

The volume of sales also fell by 4.63% from 227,810 to 217,262 between January and March compared to the previous year.

Full breakdown of regional house prices

Slowdown emerging

Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax, said: "I think this is another sign that the market is slowing.

"This goes with other signs that house price inflation is easing and that the housing market has passed the peak of the boom."

The figures - the most comprehensive measure of property prices - collate the price paid for every English and Welsh home sold in the January to March period.

They provided further evidence of a slowdown in the capital's housing market.

Price increases in Greater London were the slowest of all regions, with prices rising by 12.1%.

The number of properties sold for more than £1m in the capital fell from 390, during the last three months of 2002, to 303 in the first part of this year.

This was way below the 628 recorded in the third quarter of 2002.

Boom areas

The Land Registry said that all economic regions in England and Wales had experienced an increase in average house prices.

And despite the emergence of a slowdown in the capital, an average property remained much more expensive than in other parts of the country.

On average it costs £240,126 to buy a home in London, compared with just £111,405 in the East Midlands - the area of highest growth.

Other regions which experienced big increases were the South West, Yorkshire and Humber and Wales.

Biggest increases

The properties which gained most in value during the period were semi-detached homes.

On average, this style of property increased by 23% over the year.

New semi-detached homes did the best out of all property classes, increasing by 28% in value.

Detached properties also gained, rising by just under 23%.

In particular, older detached properties did well, increasing in value by more than 23%.

Average price by country and region
Country/region	Jan-Mar 2002	Jan-Mar 2003	% increase
England & Wales	£121,881	£145,897	19.70
East Midlands	£87,261	£111,405	27.67
South West	£126,187	£159,173	26.14
Yorks & Humber	£74,869	£92,629	23.72
Wales	£73,276	£90,585	23.62
West Midlands	£96,415	£118,533	22.94
East Anglia	£112,695	£137,338	21.87
South East	£155,080	£188,792	21.74
North	£68,278	£82,161	20.33
North West	£76,446	£90,644	18.57
Greater London	£214,257	£240,126	12.07

Source: Land Registry

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