House Price Change
Nationwide data
- The price of a typical UK house increased by 1.3% in August 2012
- Prices 0.7% lower than one year ago
- Price of a typical home is £164,729 (Sept 2012)
Affordability of Housing
First Time Buyers – House Price to Earnings Ratio
For UK first time buyers, the average house price is 4.3 times average earnings.
Affordability of Mortgage Payments
Mortgage payments as % of income reached in a peak in late 1989/90 due to record high interest rates. Rising house prices meant that the % of mortgage payments grew in the 2000s. However in 2009, interest rates were cut to 0.5% leading to lower mortgage payments for homeowners.
Interest rates in UK
There has been a dramatic fall in Bank of England base rates (which has continued to remain at 0.5%) but the bank’s standard variable rates have fallen at a much lower rate.
Source: ONS mortgage survey 2012
Further reading: UK housing affordability
Housing Supply
more data on housing market supply and future population trends
Housing Construction
UK housing construction. see also UK construction
Type of Property
Historical House Prices
House prices adjusted for inflation
Related
The UK as a whole will consist of hotspots and areas severely hit by economic woes. I believe that UK house prices as a whole will fall again in 2013 . Average house prices of course should be taken with a pinch of salt, there is no such animal. As a visual roadmap, I see price falls rippling out from London suburbs in concentric circles, getting worse as they spread. There will be hots spots of stable economy towns and these along with very desirable properties will be somewhat protected.
Those housing price to earnings ratios are unsustainable. Anything over about 4 means that buying a house will be economically crippling. 6.0 is ridiculous.