PR 10/12
2 July 2012

May Market Trend Data from Land Registry

May house prices up 0.5 per cent since April: average house price in England and Wales now £161,677
South East tops the table of regional applications with 267,587 in May
Over 54,000 residential property sale prices in England and Wales lodged for registration in May ranging from £10,000 to £18.5 million*

The May data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price increase of 0.4 per cent which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £161,677. The monthly change from April to May is an increase of 0.5 per cent.

The region in England and Wales which experienced the highest increase in its average property value over the last 12 months is London with a movement of 7.7 per cent.
London also experienced the greatest monthly rise with an increase of 2.6 per cent.
Yorkshire & The Humber experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of 3.9 per cent.
North East saw the most significant monthly price fall with a decrease of 1.9 per cent.
The most up-to-date figures available show that during March 2012, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales increased by 25 per cent to 58,609 compared with 46,742 in March 2011.
The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million in March 2012 decreased by 41 per cent to 501 from 845 in March 2011.

Access the full HPI dataset

House Price Index

Region	Monthly change (since April 2012)	Annual change (since May 2011)	Average price (May 2012)
London	2.6%	7.7%	£365,359
West Midlands	2.0%	-1.2%	£129,827
Yorkshire & The Humber	0.8%	-3.9%	£117,371
South East	0.5%	1.7%	£208,720
England & Wales	0.5%	0.4%	£161,677
East Midlands	0.2%	-1.6%	£122,858
East	0.2%	1.6%	£174,226
South West	-0.2%	-0.2%	£172,437
North West	-1.5%	-2.8%	£110,047
Wales	-1.8%	-2.0%	£115,299
North East	-1.9%	-3.5%	£99,492

Average prices by property type (England and Wales)	May 2012	May 2011	Difference
Detached	£254,407	£254,511	-
Semi-detached	£152,965	£152,552	0.3%
Terraced	£122,165	£122,445	-0.2%
Flat/maisonette	£153,018	£149,591	2.3%
All	£161,677	£160,961	0.4%

Month	Sales 2011 (England and Wales)	Sales 2010 (England and Wales)	Difference
January	37,601	35,880	5%
February	39,675	42,575	-7%
March	46,742	51,464	-9%
April	50,707	52,332	-3%
May	48,959	52,234	-6%
June	57,665	62,779	-8%
July	62,257	67,531	-8%
August	64,333	61,518	5%
September	63,456	57,514	10%
October	57,845	58,672	-1%
November	60,157	56,351	7%
December	63,213	56,903	11%
Total	652,610	655,753	0%

Month	Sales 2012 (England and Wales)	Sales 2011 (England and Wales)	Difference
January	43,315	37,601	15%
February	44,125	39,675	11%
March	58,609	46,742	25%

The Transaction Data shows Land Registry received over 1 million applications from all its customers (account and non-account) in May. This includes 1,095,004 applications by account customers, of which 261,845 were applications in respect of registered land (dealings); 492,374 were applications to obtain an official copy of a register or title plan; 161,062 were searches and 49,809 were transactions for value.

Access the full transaction dataset

Transaction data

Top three customers	Transactions for value
Countrywide Property Lawyers	1,262
My Home Move Ltd	1,016
O'Neill Patient	681

Top three customers	Searches
Enact	5,959
Optima Legal Services	5,720
TM Group (UK) LTD (Search Choice)	5,419

Top three local authority areas	Applications
City of Westminster	19,577
Birmingham	18,320
Cornwall	13,913

Region	Applications
South East	267,587
Greater London	212,370
North West	126,984
South West	118,486
West Midlands	102,591
Yorks & Humber	96,062
East Midlands	85,004
Wales	58,637
North	56,807
East Anglia	47,885
England & Wales (not assigned)	61
Isles of Scilly	27
England & Wales	1,172,501

The Price Paid Data includes details of over 54,000 residential property sales in England and Wales that were lodged for registration in May 2012. The most expensive property sold for £18.5 million* in May 2012 and is located in central London; the cheapest property in Shaw, Oldham, Lancashire sold for £10,000 in April 2012.

Access the full price paid dataset

*The £28 million figure previously reported has been identified as an error. Our systems have been updated and changes to the dataset will be shown in next month’s file. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.

ENDS

Notes to editors

The June House Price Index (HPI) and Transaction and Price Paid data sets will all be published at 11am on Friday 27 July 2012.
Market Trend Data is published on the twentieth working day of each month.
The Open Government Licence (OGL) developed by the National Archives permits the free use and re-use of public sector information.
The Public Data Group brings together Land Registry, Companies House, the Met Office and Ordnance Survey to work collectively on pursuing opportunities and driving efficiencies as well as on making their data available to users and re-users at a reduced cost or for free.
With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing over 23 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.
As part of its commitment to the Government’s priorities of economic growth and data transparency, detailed Land Registry price paid information is now available monthly in addition to the House Price Index and transaction data.
Price Paid Data is residential property price data for all the residential property sales in England and Wales that are lodged with us for registration in that month. The following information is available for each property:
- the full address
- the price paid
- the date of transfer
- the property type
- whether it is new build or not
- whether it is freehold or leasehold.
It can be downloaded from the Land Registry website as a monthly snapshot of our price paid database and is available for anyone to examine or reuse free of charge under the OGL.
For historical Price Paid Data, email addvalueservices@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk or ring 0800 678 1678. There is a charge for these reports.
The HPI uses a sample size that is larger than all other statistical measures available. It is calculated using Land Registry's dataset of all residential property sales completed in England and Wales since January 1995.
Land Registry's dataset contains details on 16 million residential transactions. Of these, over six million are identifiable matched pairs, providing the basis for the repeat sales regression analysis used to complete the index. This technique of quality adjustment ensures an "apples to apples" comparison between properties.
The monthly Transaction Data shows how many applications for first registrations, leases, transfers of part, dealings, official copies and searches were lodged by Land Registry account customers. For an explanation of the terms used, see our Frequently Asked Questions.
Transactions for value include freehold and leasehold sales.
Most searches carried out by a solicitor or conveyancer are to protect the purchase and/or mortgage. For example, a search will give the buyer priority for an application to Land Registry to register the purchase of the property. For information about the different types of search, see our Frequently Asked Questions.
This year marks the 150th anniversary of Land Registry. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been an open document since 1990.
For further information about Land Registry visit www.landregistry.gov.uk

Contact

Marion Shelley T: 0300 0067543, M: 07790 690297
marion.shelley@landregistry.gsi.gov.uk
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