House Price Rises in January

Online Stock Trading - House Prices Rise in January in Two UK Regions

Not the time to buy stocks? Fed up looking for cheap online trading sites? Maybe it's the time to buy houses again? There are plenty of property developers snapping up bargains at the auctions - don't believe all the doom and gloom!

For example the Land Registry published its latest report into house prices today and undoubtedly all the headlines will be about the 15% average house price fall, but in Redcar and Cleveland (north east England) prices actually rose in January by 3.9% ! An annualized increase of almost 48%.

It is worth noting also that in the East Midlands, and the East prices went up by 0.3% and 0.1% respectively in January. In Yorkshire and the Humber prices were flat in January and in London and the South East they only fell by 0.1%.

House prices in England and Wales did on average fall again in January. The average house is now cheaper than since March 2005. It should also be noted that small houses and flats fell faster than larger detached hoses.

The average price of a house in England and Wales fell by 0.8% in January to £156,753 ($224,470). House prices have fallen 15.1% since January 2008.

The Land Registry said that price falls vary depending on the region, the decline being highest in Wales (19.7%). In fact house prices in Wales fell by an average of 8.8% just in January.

The North East of England however seems to be holding up stronger, with house prices down just 12.7% over the year.

The Land Registry said however that the latest data are based on very small volumes of sales.

House prices in London are now falling, with a 0.1% drop for January and an annual decline of 14.1%. Could this mean the fall is slowing ?

City of Westminster showed the smallest annual fall at 6.4%, In London’s outer boroughs Harrow fell by 3.9% in January alone.

Volumes of sales fell dramatically however from November 2007 to November 2008 by 67% on average.