North West sees biggest increase in ‘Prime’ house prices, up 0.7%, while London and Scotland are biggest fallers, dropping by 0.9%.
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Asking prices for the most expensive 25% of houses for sale in Britain were broadly flat in October as the amount of stock on the market increased to its highest level since January 2008, according to the latest Prime Index from property website Primelocation.com.
The Index reveals that these most expensive homes – or ‘Prime’ properties – were up just 0.03% in October to an average price of £454,022, the equivalent of a £143 rise. This comes after September’s 0.7% drop in prices and suggests the market is stabilising despite the threat of a double dip and the government’s recently-announced spending review. Compared to the same month last year, Prime prices are 0.9% lower.
The number of Prime properties on the market increased by 3.3% this month, pushing it to the highest level since Primelocation.com started tracking the Prime property market in January 2008.
Prices went up in five regions this month, with the North West seeing the biggest increase of 0.7%. However, London and Scotland were the regions worst affected by price falls, both seeing drops of 0.9%.
Despite its big drop this month, Scotland’s Prime properties have actually experienced the biggest increase on an annual basis. Prime prices there are now 2.5% higher than they were in October 2009. This compares to the Britain national average where Prime prices are down 0.9% annually.
Meanwhile the average value of a ‘Platinum’ property – defined as the top 10% most expensive properties across Britain – is now £634,479, again virtually unchanged since September (a decrease of 0.02%). Year on year, prices in this category are 0.9% higher than in October 2009.
Commenting on the findings, Andrew Smith, Research Director, Primelocation.com said: “Last month we saw the biggest fall in prices since January 2009, so it seems the market is now stabilising and prices are holding up despite the sudden rise in stock levels. As the government’s spending cuts start to take effect property analysts will be watching closely to see what impact they have on the top end compared to the bulk of the housing market, in addition to what effect they will have on property letting further down the line.”
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Notes to Editors
About the Prime Index
The monthly Primelocation.com Prime Index offers a unique, independent and robust view of the UK’s prime property marketplace, including prices and stock levels. For the first time, the index provides authoritative data for all regions of the country.
It segments the upper end of the market as follows:
• Prime – incorporating the top 25% of all UK property by value
• Prime Platinum – incorporating the top 10% of all UK property by value
The percentile approach enables the two prime tiers to track the overall market prices, stock and remain relative to local market forces.
About Primelocation.com
Primelocation.com is the UK's principal portal for leading
estate agents, including major national agencies such as Savills, Knight Frank and Hamptons International, listing over 680,000 prime properties to rent or buy in the UK and overseas.
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