New figures from the Office for National Statistics have confirmed that house prices grew by an 5.2% in 2017 to reach an average of £226,756.
The south west saw the largest annual house price growth at 7.5%, a sharp jump from the 6.1% recorded the month before. Both the east and west Midlands recorded growth of 6.3%.
London saw the lowest annual growth of all regions at 2.5%, the 13th straight month when London has seen below average growth. The second slowest region was Yorkshire and the Humber at 2.8%.
Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders, said that the housing market is becoming more free-flowing due to improving sentiment around the economy and the fear of interest rate rises.
He commented: “Whereas in 2017 constrained demand allowed the limited number of buyers to make all the running, this year the pendulum appears to be swinging back to create a more balanced market.
“Crucially, the experience of 2017 has forced many sellers to adjust their price expectations. The days of kite-flying are over, and the homes coming onto the market now tend to be much more sensibly priced.”
Not all industry figures were so positive though. Sam Mitchell, chief executive officer of online estate agent HouseSimple, said the low number of transactions in the market is not simply down to a lack of supply, but also because of a disconnect between buyers and sellers.
He continued: “The gap appears to be widening between asking price and the sale agreed price. In London especially, sellers and buyers don’t appear to be on the same page. The assumption is that sellers are putting their properties on at over-inflated prices. But that’s not the case.
“The issue is that the price sellers are realistically hoping to achieve and buyers’ offers, are streets apart in a growing number of cases.”
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