Welsh house prices fall £2,048 in a year

Fall in Welsh house prices continues: now £2,048 in a year year say LSL Property Services

 Prices now stand 1.3% lower than last year

 Average price almost back to the start of the year 

Oliver Blake, Managing Director of Reeds Rains estate agents, who has branches in Wales comments: “Unlike the rest of Britain, the Welsh housing market remains in slow reverse. Wales has seen the biggest annual average house price fall of any region: prices plummeted £2,048 in the past year. However, outside of Wales, only Londoners saw their houses rise significantly in value in  April. 

Sales in Wales are depressed compared to England, but London is the exception, not the rule, so the dramatic comparison is unclear.

“The torpor in the Welsh market is due to inadequate mortgage availability for first-time buyers. Encouragingly, more Welsh buyers are making enquiries – and plans for new estate agency businesses are also rumoured, so the interest is there. It’s the inaccessibility of mortgage finance for the average buyer that’s reining in demand. High rents and growing inflation are reducing the amount firsttime buyers can set aside to meet the large deposit requirements required by lenders. 

“This has lead to the fall: average prices rolled backwards by £219 in the last month. Despite the positive start to this year prices now stand a long distance away  – 10.8% lower  – from their record peak in 2007. Even by historic standards it’s poor.

 And the sinking prices are bucking the usual summer trend of sales rising as the summer season begins. House sales are low, especially at the bottom end of the market. And strict mortgage requirements and lenders’ caution have made it tough to boost sales activity substantially, which has also slowed down activity at the higher end of the market. 

In April house prices fell in 12 of the 22 unitary authorities. Within the country, there is a clear north/south 

divide. The 14 southernmost areas of Wales saw prices fall almost 19%, standing in stark contrast to the rise of 2.2% in prices in the six northernmost areas. Not only does this point to the population variations in different parts of the country, it also shows parts of Wales remain in post-industrial decline.

Table shows price April 2012/April 2013 followed by annual % price change

1 1 MONMOUTHSHIRE                          228,478 216,151 -5.4%

2 2 THE VALE OF GLAMORGAN                  226,295 207,962 -8.1%

4 3 CARDIFF                                184,848 186,243 0.8%

5 4 POWYS                                  171,414 183,545 7.1%

3 5 CEREDIGION                             186,259 177,289 -4.8%

6 6 PEMBROKESHIRE                          168,081 167,625 -0.3%

7 7 ISLE OF ANGLESEY                       160,447 164,984 2.8%

11 8 WREXHAM                                152,981 157,155 2.7%

10 9 GWYNEDD                                155,664 153,315 -1.5%

12 10 FLINTSHIRE                            150,020 152,084 1.4%

9 11 CONWY                                  156,480 150,348 -3.9%

13 12 NEWPORT                                146,412 149,756 2.3%

8 13 SWANSEA                                156,985 146,182 -6.9%

17 14 CARMARTHENSHIRE                        130,728 143,817 10.0%

14 15 DENBIGHSHIRE                           138,680 139,694 0.7%

15 16 BRIDGEND                               138,655 137,457 -0.9%

16 17 TORFAEN                                132,630 123,110 -7.2%

18 18 CAERPHILLY                             123,615 114,682 -7.2%

19 19 NEATH PORT TALBOT                      110,547 105,947 -4.2%

20 20 RHONDDA CYNON TAFF                     108,742 105,331 -3.1%

21 21 MERTHYR TYDFIL                         97,287 104,644 7.6%

22 22 BLAENAU GWENT                          82,444 85,598 3.8%