House price recovery begins

Thursday 14 August 2014

House prices appear to have turned a corner after the latest stats showed that five years of falling values may have come to an end.

The three months from March to June saw a 5% increase in house prices, but statisticians say that the most encouraging sign is that the trend over the last 12 months is a 1% increase. They say that the annual trends are more revealing because a few high or low-value property sales can swing the monthly figures in either direction.

The figures also saw the average price for a three-bedroom house creep over the £500,000 for the first time since 2011.

For the last five years, house prices have fallen by around 1% per year – the latest figures mean that the last 12 months have seen a 1% rise overall.

This morning’s figures showed that the most recent prices were:

-       One-bedroom flats - £219,000 (up £20,000 on the previous quarter.)

-       Two-bedroom flats - £354,000 (up £14,000.)

-       Two-bedroom houses - £382,000 (up £5,000.)

-       Three-bedroom houses - £508,000 (up £50,000.)