DCLG: House prices down by 0.8%
The UK property market is still cooling, according to the latest government figures (November).
Data from the Department of Communities and Local Government (DCLG) showed house prices fell by 0.8% in November, compared with a slight rise of 0.1% in October.
The annual rate of house price inflation was 9.5%, down from 11.3% the previous month.
The average figure for the three months to November, seen as a more reliable indicator, fell to 10.5% from 11.1%.
The DCLG calculated that the average price of a home in the UK was now £218,330, down from £220,195 in October.
The fall in prices between October and November can be attributed to decreases in average prices for detached houses (2.4%), bungalows (0.9%), flats (0.6%) and semi-detached houses (0.3%) only being partly offset by a small rise in the price of terraced houses (less than 0.1%).
Scotland saw an increase in house price inflation from 13.9% to 14.0%. England, Wales and Northern Ireland, though, saw decreases. In England it fell from 10.7% to 9.1%, in Wales from 9.7% to 5.9% and in Northern Ireland from 32.5% to 17.6%.
House price inflation fell in six of the English regions and rose in three - the highest inflation rate being in London (14.1%) followed by the South East (10.7%), and the East (9.4%).
Inflation rates were lower in the North East (7.6%), South West (7.2%) and the East Midlands (6.6%).
The lowest inflation rates were in the North West (5.8%), Yorkshire and the Humber (5.7%) and the West Midlands (4.3%).
The department’s figures are not seasonally adjusted, so reflect the traditional slowdown in the market in the run-up to Christmas, although most other house price indexes for November also showed a slowing market as a result of tighter credit conditions and affordability constraints.