Land Registry: prices finally above pre-slowdown level

Data for June from the Land Registry shows that the annual price increase of 5.4 per cent takes the average property value in England and Wales to £181,619 - finally overtaking the previous pre-downturn peak of £180,983 recorded in November 2007. 

The monthly rise in June was 1.1 per cent. 

Unsurprisingly the region with the largest annual price increase is London, up 9.2 per cent but the region with the largest monthly rise in June alone was north east England, up 3.0 per cent. 

Prices in Yorkshire and The Humber actually fell slightly in June, down 0.9 per cent, contributing to the modest annual performance - a rise of 1.4 per cent, the smallest rise of any region in England and Wales.

Land Registry data for April this year - the most up-to-date available - show that the number of completed house sales in England & Wales decreased 19 per cent to 57,180 compared with 70,244 in April 2014.

The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1m decreased by 22 per cent to 874 from 1,114 a year earlier

Repossessions decreased by 48 per cent to 505 compared with 974 in April 2014.