The unexpected “mini-boom” in house prices continued in September, according to the latest official figures, but analysts have said that a slowdown in the pace of the recent rebound has begun.
Figures from the
Land Registry showed a rise of 0.9 per cent in prices last month, taking the price of the average house in England and Wales to £158,377 and bringing the annual decline to 5.6 per cent.
However,
estate agents have said that transaction levels remain low and have sunk further in the first few weeks of October as homebuyers and sellers begin to hunker down in the run-up to Christmas.
Rightmove reported that the number of new listings had fallen to 94,629 in October, from 105,924 in September, and the
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors reported slight softening in demand last month.
The housing market has had a run of good fortune in the past six months. From April to September, research by BNP Paribas Real Estate (BNP PRE), the consultancy, showed that nominal house price growth had reached more than 10 per cent. The best-performing regions, according to its figures, were East Anglia, where prices rose by 10.58 per cent, and Greater London, up by 9.66 per cent.
However, estate agents have said that the strong performance is confined to London and the South East and to prime country houses.
Times Online