Market Update - February 2010

The house price index is based on month-on-month (m/m) figures, comparing February's price index against the previous month of January. It will also provide an overview of the performance during February in comparison to the same time last year.

January saw a 1% decrease on prices, its first m/m drop since April 2009. The average house is now worth £161,320, slightly down on January however, this is 9.2% higher than the same time last year whereby the average property was just worth £147,746.

Halifax state that house prices declined by 1.5% in February, this the first decline since June 2009. The average house is now worth £166,857, but despite this being lower than January, results have improved in comparison to year-on-year (y/y) figures as average houses prices for a property in February 2009 were £160,104, 4.5% lower than February 2010.

The poor snowy conditions during February may explain the decline with potential buyers reluctant to go visit potential properties or are unable to travel due to the icy roads. The expiry of stamp duty may have also played a role as it has now dropped back to £125,000 as of the 1st January after the threshold was £175,000 for just over a year.

Results show that despite the house price index decline against m/m figures, the market is in a better condition than this time last year, with both The Nationwide and Halifax recording higher average house prices against February 2009.