Regions reveal annual price fall

Three regions in England and Wales have now seen house prices fall over the last 12 months, new figures have indicated.

Land Registry house price statistics for England and Wales for April showed the annual rate to still be positive at 2.7 per cent up on a year earlier, although this was down from 3.6 per cent in March and the monthly figure fell by 0.2 per cent.

While April saw five regions up in average price and the other five down, the three which saw the greatest fall in price in April all now have a lower average price than a year earlier.

These are the west Midlands (down 0.1 per cent), the east Midlands (down 0.9 per cent) and Wales (down 1.4 per cent).

One of the worst-hit parts of Wales is Flintshire, which has seen a five per cent drop in prices in recent months, the Flintshire Standard reports.

People living in such areas who are concerned that negative equity may harm them if they want to upgrade their homes may start planning to renovate their dwelling rather than buying another home.