Land Registry Reports Price Rises

Monday, August 9 2004 The average house price in England and Wales has risen by 17% to £175,401 in the past year, says the Land Registry today as it reports its figures for April to June 2004. Prices rose all over England and Wales (apart from in Reading where they stayed the same). Wales continued to show rapid growth in house prices, with an average increase of 27.6%. Figures by county showed that five out of the top ten average price increases were in Wales. Scotland also showed significant rises, with inflation sitting at 23.8% up from the same period last year. The Land Registry also found that the volume of sales increased in England and Wales by 22%, and 997 properties over £1 million were sold; in Greater London the volume of sales increased by some 26.7% and 638 properties over £1 million were sold. It has been noted by analysts that these figures need to be read bearing in mind that they are based on sales agreed some months ago, and so are not a reflection of what is currently happening in the property market. However, the figures are thought to be more accurate for this period than other surveys because they are based on the price for which a house changes hands, rather than a guide price or the price initially offered by the buyer which has been known to change. Land Registry