Official figures show house price slide easing to 0.2%

Latest figures from the Land Registry show house prices in England and Wales declining by 0.2% in May, with the average property worth £152,497.

While the monthly change remained negative, the rate of fall eased from 0.3% in April and the annual rate of decline fell back to 15.9% compared with 16.2% in April.

In May, London saw house prices down by 1.5%, giving an annual movement of minus 16.1% and putting the average price of a property at £295,325.

On a regional basis, Wales experienced the greatest monthly rise in May with an increase of 1.2%.

The East, North West, West Midlands and South East also saw prices increase in May compared with April.

The North East experienced the most significant monthly price fall at 4.3% and also showed the highest annual decline, at 17.2%

Average annual falls by property type were as follows in May: detached -14.5%; semi-detached -15.1%, terraced -17%, flat/maisonette -17.3%.

Between December 2008 and March 2009, completed property sales averaged 31,091 per month, less than half the 64,674 monthly transactions recorded during the same period of 2007/08.

The Land Registry may be one month behind other UK property market commentators but the government body claims it produces the most accurate index.

By way of comparison, Halifax reported a 2.6% rise in UK house prices in May, compared with April, with the average cost of a home at £158,565. Nationwide’s data also came in positive with prices up 1.2% in May.

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