House Prices Up In January – Says Land Registry

By Mick Eccles

Monthly house price inflation grew 0.9 per cent in January, bringing the average house price in England and Wales to 174,827, official figures show.

Since January 2006, the average house price has gone up 7.7 per cent and is the first time since May 2005 that annual price growth of greater than seven per cent over two consecutive months has occurred, according to the Land Registry.

Over the course of the year, the price of detached properties rose 8.4 per cent, while semi-detached and terraced homes both saw above-average price hikes of 7.9 per cent. However, flats and maisonettes saw below-average rises of 6.6 per cent each.

The data also reveals that annual growth in London is well above the national average and was at 9.9 per cent in January.

"London can be seen along side Yorkshire and the Humber and the south-east as the most consistent drivers behind recent national house price growth," the Land Registry stated.

According to Hometrack, house prices went up 0.7 per cent in February, with the average house price in England and Wales rising to 172,000.

Revised figures from the British Bankers' Association (BBA) have revealed that gross mortgage lending in January rose significantly over the year, although it was down on December's data.

The findings show that gross lending totalled 16.6 billion in January, which is 15 per cent more than the previous January figure of 14.5 billion. However, the figure was much lower than the 18.1 billion reported in December.

Underlying net mortgage lending grew by 5.6 billion, compared with December's increase of 5.7 billion. Annual growth in net mortgage lending now stands at 14 per cent.

David Dooks, BBA director of statistics, said: "January saw a continued stable demand for mortgages. Actual borrowing on mortgages remains strong compared with this time last year, so the impact of higher interest rates has yet to feature."

The figures also show there was an underlying total of 141,200 mortgage approvals, with the average loan approved for house purchase valued at 146,700 16 per cent higher than a year earlier.

According to the Council of Mortgage Lenders, gross lending hit a record January high of 26.8 billion, which is a rise of 16 per cent on the previous January figure of 23 billion.

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