Wales bucks trend as house prices across UK drop £10k

HOUSE prices in Wales have massively outperformed the UK trend by posting the highest annual growth during 2018, a new report has found.

Average sale prices rose 6.2% in Wales, while those in London and the south-east of England fell over the past 12 months, according to property website Rightmove.

But those falls in the south-east and east of England have helped fuel a pronounced drop in recent average British prices, which have fallen by £10,000 over just two months.

Across Britain, the typical price of property coming to market fell by 1.5% or £4,496 month on month in December, Rightmove said.

The average asking price now stands at £297,527 – 3.2% or £9,719 less than in October.

Rightmove said it is the biggest fall over two months since 2012, as sellers try to attract buyers against a backdrop of the Christmas slowdown, stretched affordability and political uncertainty.

Miles Shipside, director of Rightmove, said now could be a good time for buyers to negotiate a deal.

He said: “The window of maximum buyer negotiating opportunity starts to close from Boxing Day onwards, as more buyers become active in the market.

“From the low point on Christmas Day, the number of pages of property viewed on Rightmove last year more than tripled by the first working day of the new year.

“Home-owners who are thinking of coming to the market early in 2019 should seriously consider doing so as soon as possible to get maximum exposure to the surge in interest from buyers who make it their resolution to move in the new year.”

“Wales leads the UK’s annual growth with 6.2%, while the East Midlands, West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber are all between 4% and 5%.”