Transaction levels took a dive this spring, the latest Land Registry data has shown.
In the months February to May, volumes averaged just 45,489 a month – a decrease from the same period last year when transaction volumes averaged 49,600.
In May itself, a total of 46,870 homes were sold, a 10% drop on May of 2010, when 52,170 homes changed hands.
It is the latest transaction data available, although the Land Registry is more up to date with price information.
It says that in July, average house prices in England and Wales rose 1.3% to stand at £163,049.Huge regional variations mean that in Redcar and Cleveland, house prices fell 2.3% in the month, and by 7.9% annually, whilst in Northumberland a monthly fall of 0.1% pales into significance beside an annual drop of 8.6%.
By contrast, house prices in Wokingham, Berkshire, were up 0.5% on the month and by 0.4% on the year.
The national average figure of £163,049 quoted by the Land Registry is, mystifyingly, a long way short of the Government’s other official house price survey, produced by CLG.
CLG’s latest house price index puts the average house price in June at £204,981
