(LONDON) The housing market in England and Wales strengthened modestly in November, with the smallest year-on-year drop in house prices since May 2008, a survey by property data company Hometrack showed yesterday.
House prices rose 0.2 per cent from last month on a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the fourth consecutive monthly rise, causing the annual decline in house prices to ease to 2.9 per cent from October's 4.2 per cent.
The average percentage of asking price achieved by sellers rose to 93.2 per cent from 92.9 per cent, its highest since March 2008, and the average time properties took to sell remained steady at an 18-month low of 8.4 weeks.
However, the number of new buyers grew by just 0.1 per cent in November versus 1.2 per cent in October - something which Hometrack said might not just be due to a seasonal pre-Christmas dip and pointed to limits on further house price rises.
'Further price rises could well result in an increase in the time to sell as stronger pricing meets greater resistance from would-be buyers whose numbers are also growing more slowly,' said Richard Donnell, Hometrack's director of research.
Moreover, the price rises were heavily concentrated in London and southeastern England, which reported price rises in 79 per cent and 57 per cent of post code areas compared to just 37 per cent on average nationally.
'The stark reality is that there are large swathes of the country where prices have remained unchanged or have seen continued price falls,' Mr Donnell said.
House prices rose in just 6 per cent of post code areas in northern England, the most depressed region.
Hometrack's survey was based on responses from 1,804 estate agents and surveyors. -- Reuters
Source: Business Times, 1 Dec 2009
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