The house price index is based on month-on-month (m/m) figures from The Nationwide and Rightmove. Both figures will compare April's price index against the previous month of March. It will also provide an overview of the performance during April in comparison to the same time last year. The Nationwide figures look into house prices against mortgage approvals with Rightmove looking into asking price figures.

The Nationwide¹

The Nationwide house price index during April saw a rise of 1% against the previous month with the average house now worth £167,802. The Nationwide also recorded a 10.5% rise against April 2009 where the average property then was worth £151,861.

This 10.5% rise against 2009 is the first time since 2007 that the house price index has risen into double figures. This highlights a good month for April with positive signs that May and June could follow suit.

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Rightmove²

According to Rightmove April recorded a 2.6% rise against the previous month with the average asking price of a property at £234,512. This was also a 6% rise against April 2009 where the asking price then was £222,077. Rightmove also saw a 35% increase in the number of pages viewed on the website. This is further evidence that there is an increase in interested property buyers. This may also be partly down to the change of stamp duty which was put into place in January.

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Conclusion

The Nationwide figures show that buyers are still willing to purchase properties despite the pre election worries which some thought may slow the housing market down. Rightmove figures show further confidence in sellers as April saw a 2.6% rise in asking prices.

Results still indicate that the market is in a better condition than this time last year, with both The Nationwide and Rightmove recording higher average prices against the same time last year. It also shows that sellers and buyers had no pre election jitters, with new sellers entering the market increasing their asking prices and the continuous rise in average house prices.

However, if we compare Rightmove average asking price of £234,512 against approval mortgage loans of £167,802 from The Nationwide we can see there is still a huge difference in what sellers are asking and what they could be actually selling for. One of the reasons behind this still could be that there are still a limited number of properties on the market resulting in prices less competitive within the housing market.

¹The Nationwide results are compiled based on mortgage approvals of loans agreed by The Nationwide Building Society
²Rightmove results are compiled from asking prices of properties as they come to market via Rightmove's member estate agents
Source: The Nationwide, Rightmove