House prices fell again in April

House prices are still falling

House prices in England and Wales fell slightly again in April, according to the Land Registry.

The average house price fell by 0.3% that month, with the annual rate of decline remaining at 16.2%, the same as it was in March.

"Although property prices are still falling, the speed of the fall has been fairly static over the last couple of months," said the Land Registry.

The average home was worth £152,898 in April, down by £29,659 over the year.

Last week the Nationwide building society, one of the UK's biggest mortgage lenders, suggested that UK house prices picked up by 1.2% in May, the second increase it had recorded in the past three months.

That was the latest of a number of pointers suggesting that the slump in the property market may be slowing down.

But with lenders still rationing their lending to both new and existing borrowers, sales are still far lower than a year ago.

ANNUAL HOUSE PRICE FALLS London: -14.3% (average price £302,411) East Midlands: -14.7% (£122,532) West Midlands: -15% (£129,382) East: -16.3% (£160,068) Wales: -12.8% (£122,241) South East: -17.2% (£187,124) North West: -16.3% (£116,009) Yorkshire & the Humber: -15.6% (£122,339) South West: -18% (£159,704) North East: -17.3% (£106,769) Source: Land Registry of England & Wales

The Land Registry said that number of properties sold between November 2008 and February 2009 averaged just 31,315 per month, which was only 42% of the level seen during the same period the year before.

"The Land Registry data offers yet more proof that the UK property market is stabilising," said David Smith of property consultancy Carter Jonas.

"Despite the predictions by many economists of a further 10% drop by the end of the year, it does now appear that the bottom has been reached, especially in London, which has seen a small rise in prices."

House prices in the capital rose by 1.4% in April, according to the Land Registry's figures, taking the average house price in London to £302,411.

Other regions to see a bounce in prices that month were the East and West Midlands, the Eastern region, Wales and the South East.

Over the past year though prices have fallen sharply in all areas, with the largest fall being recorded in the South West , where prices fell by 18% in the twelve months to April.

"The Land Registry data adds to mounting evidence that the decline in house prices is moderating appreciably," said Howard Archer, of Global Insight.

"[But] we remain highly sceptical that house prices have bottomed out.

"Significantly, it is not uncommon for there to be months of rising prices when house prices are still trending down," he added.