After a rather slow start to the year, house prices in England and Wales have reached a new high in May, averaging at £303,200.
According to the data collected by Your Move, this shows a rise in house prices of 0.3% month-on-month and 4.8% year-on-year.
Market activity remained relatively strong with sales only dropping slightly compared to the seasonal average whilst still showing an increase of 6% from April.
Furthermore, the report also showed a significant slowdown in sales in London, the South East and East of England, only being counteracted by an impressive performance by the country’s North.
Oliver Blake, managing director at Your Move and Reeds Rains, explained:
“The market remains resilient and there’s encouraging activity in the North, but we need to urgently address the serious blockages in house building holding back labour mobility and economic competitiveness in too many areas of the country.”
Sales increased by 13% in Wales, 10% in the North East, 7% in Yorkshire and the Humber, 6% in the West Midlands and 4% in the East Midlands in the three months to April when compared to the same period during 2015.
In London and the South East, however, sales fell by 19% and 7% respectively.
Prices across London continue their rise, if so at a lower pace at 2.7% in the year to April 2017. The average price in the capital at the end of April stood at £615,838.
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For those interested in more regional property prices, the West Midlands has cemented its position as the UK’s property hotspot by leading the annual house price growth for the third month running. Here, prices have increased by 5.1% over the last twelve months to April.
Overall, all English and Welsh regions have grown over the last year, with the East of England also increasing by 5.1%, the East Midlands by 4.4%, the South West by 4.2% and the South East by 4.1%.
