Uk House Price Index by OFNS (Office for National Statistics) for February 2019

Release date: 17 April 2019

• The average price of a property in the UK was £226,234

• The annual price change for a property in the UK was: 0.6%

• The monthly price change for a property in the UK was: -0.8%

• The average property price in London: £459,800

The UK annual house price growth rate slows in February 2019, concludes the report:

‘Average house prices in the UK increased by 0.6% in the year to February 2019, down from 1.7% in January 2019 (Figure 1). This is the lowest annual rate since September 2012 when it was 0.4%. Over the past two years, there has been a slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England.

The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices fell by 3.8% over the year to February 2019, down from a decrease of 2.2% in January 2019. This was followed by the South East where prices fell 1.8% over the year.’

The report highlights the following sources:

The Bank of England’s Agents’ summary of business conditions – 2019 Q1 reported that sentiment in the housing market continued to weaken, with Brexit-related uncertainty deterring buyers. Sales of new-builds also slowed, leading to housebuilders offering significant incentives to complete sales.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) February 2019 UK Residential Market Survey results continue to signal a subdued market, with enquiries, sales and new instructions all remaining subdued. Demand fell for the seventh consecutive month with a further decline in new instructions also reported.

The UK Property Transactions Statistics for February 2019 showed that on a seasonally adjusted basis, the number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or greater was 101,780. This is 2.7% higher than a year ago. Between January 2019 and February 2019, transactions increased by 1.7%.

The Bank of England’s Money and Credit release showed that mortgage approvals for house purchase (an indicator of future lending) fell back in February, to 64,300, slightly below the average of the previous six months of 65,500.

The UK House Price Index summary is available to download HERE.