FT sees house prices fall

Prices fell by 1.1% in England and Wales in September according to the latest FT House Price Index, putting annual house price inflation at -4.3%. All ten regions in England and Wales are now registering falls on both a monthly and an annual basis, the report adds.

Regionally London is ‘trending down rapidly’ the report says, as its annual growth rate is now negative at -0.4%, bringing it more into line with the other regions, while Wales and the East Midlands are suffering the greatest falls nationally.

As the FT compiles an index of indices it is able to see the different pictures of the market painted depending on how data is compiled: ‘All UK house prices are currently negative,’ the report explains, ‘But the index measures that are based upon the final prices achieved in a sales transaction (such as the Land Registry) are showing a materially less negative picture of the market than that provided by indices based upon mortgage offer prices (Halifax and Nationwide)’.

Commentators have yet to establish whether these differences are material, the report continues, an important point considering these indices have an impact on both consumer confidence and the direction the market will take in future months.