|
Headlines |
Mar-20 |
Feb-20 |
|
Monthly Index* |
439.6 |
436.3 |
|
Monthly Change* |
0.8% |
0.3% |
|
Annual Change |
3.0% |
2.3% |
|
Average Price (not seasonally adjusted) |
£219,583 |
£216,092 |
* Seasonally adjusted figure (note that monthly % changes are revised when seasonal adjustment factors are re-estimated)
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
“Annual house price growth increased to 3% in March, up from 2.3% the previous month - the fastest pace since January 2018 (when annual growth was 3.2%). The last six months have all seen month-on-month increases, after taking account of seasonal effects.
“It is important to note that, while we use a full month’s worth of data to generate the index, the cut-off point is slightly before the end of the month. This means that developments following the UK government’s lockdown will not be reflected in these figures.
“In the opening months of 2020, before the pandemic struck the UK, the housing market had been steadily gathering momentum. Activity levels and price growth were edging up thanks to continued robust labour market conditions, low borrowing costs and a more stable political backdrop following the general election.
“But housing market activity is now grinding to a halt as a result of the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus, and where the government has recommended not entering into housing transactions during this period.
“Indeed, a lack of transactions will make gauging house price trends difficult in the coming months.
“The medium-term outlook for the housing market is also highly uncertain, where much will depend on the performance of the wider economy.
“Economic activity is set to contract significantly in the near term as a direct result of the necessary measures adopted to suppress the spread of the virus.
“But the raft of policies adopted to support the economy, including to protect businesses and jobs, to support peoples’ incomes and keep borrowing costs down, should set the stage for a strong rebound once the shock passes, and help limit long-term damage to the economy.
“These same measures should also help ensure the impact on the housing market will ultimately be much less than would normally be associated with an economic shock of this magnitude.
Annual price growth up in most regions in Q1
“Wales was the strongest performing region in the first quarter of 2020, with annual price growth picking up to 6.4%. Following several quarters of little or no growth, England saw annual house price growth increase to 1.9%. Conditions remained subdued in Scotland and Northern Ireland, which saw annual price growth of 0.8% and 0.7%, respectively.
“In England, all regions except the North saw modest price growth of between 0% and 5% - in the North prices were down 0.3% compared with Q1 2019.
“Nevertheless, house price growth across northern England as a whole (North, North West, Yorkshire & Humberside, East Midlands and West Midlands), remained ahead of that in the south (London, Outer Metropolitan, Outer South East and East Anglia), as has been the case since the start of 2017. Yorkshire & Humberside was the strongest performing English region with prices up 4.3% year-on-year.
“London saw a recovery in annual house price growth to 1.0%, following ten consecutive quarters of annual price declines. Average prices in the capital are still only 4% below the all-time highs recorded in Q1 2017 and over 50% above their 2007 levels (UK prices are currently 19% higher than their 2007 peak).
“The surrounding Outer Metropolitan region saw a modest pickup in annual price growth to 0.8%, while the neighbouring Outer South East region saw a pickup to 1.7%, following four quarters of small annual price declines.
“Elsewhere in England, most regions saw a slight pickup in annual price growth in Q1.”
Q1 2020
Please note that these figures are for the three months to March, therefore will show a different UK average price and annual percentage change to our monthly house price statistics.
Regions over the last 12 months
|
Region |
Average Price (Q1 2020) |
Annual % change this quarter |
Annual % change last quarter |
|
Wales |
£163,076 |
6.4% |
1.5% |
|
Yorks & H’side |
£164,115 |
4.3% |
1.6% |
|
North West |
£168,230 |
4.1% |
1.8% |
|
East Midlands |
£188,893 |
3.6% |
0.4% |
|
West Midlands |
£194,047 |
2.5% |
2.7% |
|
Outer S East |
£278,838 |
1.7% |
-1.0% |
|
South West |
£245,326 |
1.5% |
1.6% |
|
East Anglia |
£228,922 |
1.3% |
0.1% |
|
London |
£460,266 |
1.0% |
-1.8% |
|
Outer Met |
£358,996 |
0.8% |
0.3% |
|
Scotland |
£148,893 |
0.8% |
2.8% |
|
N Ireland |
£143,438 |
0.7% |
1.0% |
|
North |
£129,081 |
-0.3% |
2.6% |
|
UK |
£217,911 |
2.5% |
0.8% |
UK Fact File (Q1 2020) |
|
|
Quarterly average UK house price |
£217,911 |
|
Annual percentage change |
2.5% |
|
Quarterly change* |
1.3% |
|
Most expensive region |
London |
|
Least expensive region |
North |
|
Strongest annual price change |
Wales |
|
Weakest annual price change |
North |
* Seasonally adjusted
Nations – annual & quarterly price change
|
Nation |
Average Price (Q1 2020) |
Annual % change this quarter |
Quarterly % change* |
|
Wales |
£163,076 |
6.4% |
2.7% |
|
England |
£254,258 |
1.9% |
1.2% |
|
Scotland |
£148,893 |
0.8% |
-0.9% |
|
N Ireland |
£143,438 |
0.7% |
1.2% |
* Seasonally adjusted
