Looking at the national picture

AVERAGE house prices across the UK increased by 10.9% over the year to February 2022, up from 10.2% in January 2022, according to the most recent figures from the Office for National Statistics.

Between the beginning of 2016 and the end of 2019, there was a general slowdown in UK house price growth, driven mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England.

The start of 2020 saw a pick-up in annual growth in the housing market before the coronavirus restrictions were put in place at the end of March 2020.

Recent price increases may reflect a range of factors including some possible changes in housing preferences and a response to the changes made to property transaction taxes across the nations.

In July 2020, the Chancellor announced a suspension of the tax paid on property purchases in England and Northern Ireland, with similar suspensions announced in Scotland and Wales.

In England and Northern Ireland, properties up to the value of £500,000 would incur no tax, while the thresholds for Scotland and Wales were £250,000.

This may allow sellers to request higher prices as buyers’ overall costs are reduced.

The tax holiday for Scotland ended on March 31, 2021. It was extended until June 30, 2021 in Wales, while in England and Northern Ireland, it was extended until the same date but the threshold will then decrease to £250,000 before ending on September 30, 2021.

This may have accounted for a rush of demand in mid-2021, as annual price rises soared to a 13.5% increase in the year to June 2021. There was another smaller rush in September, with annual growth at 11.5% that month.

According to the Land Registry, 22,298 home sales have been registered for January, 29,353 for February, and 9,519 for March.

It may take several weeks for sales to be registered after completion so some sales from later in the period may not be listed yet.

The impact of coronavirus has meant that it is taking longer than for sales to be registered.

The Land Registry has also warned its services are likely to be disrupted due to the pandemic, particularly the process of registering a new sale, which likely means a longer delay between the house sale completing and the record being updated at the Land Registry.

Based on the data covering the period so far, across England and Wales, there were 1,883 £1 million or more sales, including 374 at £2 million or more.

The Land Registry lists the price paid for every property bought at market value.

The data also includes sales under a power of sale/ repossessions, buy-to-lets (where they can be identified by a mortgage) and transfers to non-private individuals.

As the data relies on buyers, or their solicitors, registering the sale and the price paid with the Land Registry, mistakes in listings may happen, they are usually corrected at a later date.

Issues can include figures with too many digits or shared ownership prices paid for a part share listed as the whole price.