Land Registry reports 13.5% fall in house prices

The Land Registry has reported that house prices in England and Wales fell by 13.5% in 2008, with the average value of a home dipping a further 2% in December, to £158,846.

By way of comparison, yesterday Nationwide reported an annual decline of 15.9% in December.

According to the Registry, Wales was the only region to record a month-on-month rise during December (1.7%) and property prices in the North East showed no change.

Meanwhile in the West Midlands the decline gathered pace with a monthly fall of 3.6%.

In London the average cost of a home fell an annual 12.9% in December, taking the average price of a property to £307,071, a level last seen in late 2006.

The Registry’s most recent statistics also show that during October of last year the number of completed house sales fell by 60% year-on-year to 41,123.

In London only 4,604 house sales were completed in during the month, compared with 13,354 in October 2007.

The Land Registry’s figure are based on completed sales and so lag behind those of mortgage lenders.

Nationwide has already published its index for January showing a monthly drop of 1.3% and an annual rate of fall at 16.6%, putting the average cost of a home at £150,501.

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