Half of the regions in the country have posted falls in house prices for the month with the North East reducing -5.5% over the month.

Data from the Office of National Statistics (ONS) shows 7 out of 12 regions have registered house prices falls with the North East down -5.5% compared to the whole country lower by -0.3%.

Other regions falling are the West Midlands down -2.0% for the month, North West lower by -1.5%, Yorkshire and The Humber and East of England reducing by -0.7%.

Over the year house prices are rising on average up 4.9% to January 2018 with an average property value of £225,621.

Lower house prices should give first time buyers a chance to get on the property value as they would require a smaller deposit or lower earnings to purchase their first home.

Lowering prices across the country

House prices remain strong in Scotland rising 1.4% for the month and are higher by 7.3% year-on-year followed by the and South West up 1.4% and are 6.9% higher over the year.

The following table from the ONS shows average house prices and monthly change for homeowners to January 2018.

Region	Average price	Monthly change
Scotland	£148,512	1.4%
South West	£255,307	1.4%
Northern Ireland	£130,48	1.0%
London	£485,830	1.0%
South East	£323,435	0.2%
East Midlands	£185,568	-0.1%
Wales	£153,034	-0.5%
Yorks and the Humber	£156,484	-0.7%
East of England	£289,729	-0.7%
England	£242,286	-0.5%
North West	£155,788	-1.5%
West Midlands	£187,905	-2.0%
North East	£122,870	-5.5%

The biggest fall is the North east -5.5% lower over a month and only up 0.7% over the year with average property prices at £122,870.

For buy-to-let landlords the lower house prices in the North of England means they need a smaller deposit or mortgage and rental yields after interest payments would increase.

Considerable value in property allows the older equity release mortgage buyer to access wealth in their property using this for any purpose such as help your children start or expand a business or buy a more expensive home.

In the North East houses prices are lower for first time buyers reducing almost £7,000 over the month to £105,278 and home movers also reducing for the month by about £9,000 to £140,140.

Falling demand for properties

According to the latest report from The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics), new buyer enquiries declined for the 10th consecutive month, with a net balance of -11% respondents reporting a fall in demand.

Rics asks their members option about the direction of house prices giving a net balance between -100% (all negative) to +100% (all positive).

In terms of housing supply, there are a lack of new instructions on the market slowing activity has shown no sign of turning in recent months and at -17% is the weakest since May 2017.

Estate agent stocks continued to slip back towards the record low levels seen around the middle of last year with sales and price expectations are flat in the near term.

For remortgage buyers flat house prices and current very low mortgage rates gives them an opportunity to release capital which they can use to improve their home.

What are your next steps?

Talk to our London City Mortgage advisers if you are an older homeowner releasing equity from your property, we can recommend the lifetime mortgage to access wealth for home or garden improvements and holidays of a lifetime.

Learn more by using the equity release calculator, property value tracker chart and mortgage monthly costs calculator. Start with a free mortgage quote or call us and we can take your details.

At LCM our mortgage brokers can provide advice if you are a first time buyer, moving home, want to remortgage your existing home to a new cost effective mortgage deal or are a buy-to-let investor.

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