■ House price growth slows
National house prices fell by 0.3% in the month to March, as the gap between London and the regions continued to narrow.
Despite this, on an annual basis, according to Nationwide, prices still increased by 4.1%, and by 5% in the capital.
■ Strong regional markets continue to contribute to supply
The strong regional market has continued to help boost house building nationally. According to the ONS, there were 23.7m dwellings at the end of March 2016, an increase of 190,000 on the year before.
PRS, housing for sale and housing association-built stock were all on the up.
■ Approvals are on the up
Planning approvals have also risen, by 12% year on year, as government support and economic growth continue to underpin the regional markets, despite referendum fears.
■ Approvals are up across most regions
Even in London, where fears of a slowdown are causing concerns for developers, approvals have continued to rise year on year.
■ The London donut
According to research from JLL, growth and development is moving away from the centre, where development is more financially viable. This, however, is pushing up the price of schemes in the outer London boroughs.
JLL says that only 12% of London postcodes have a price tag of less than £200,000 for a one-bedroom flat.
■ Central London blues
For prime central London, however, good news remains in relatively short supply. Transaction volumes, according to LonRes, remain muted, though this is skewed by the uptick in transactions in Q1 last year before the stamp duty hike.
■ Under offer and sold
LonRes says under-offer actitivity in Q1 2017 was similar to last year and the number of properties going under offer in the three months to March was just 2% lower than over the same period last year. Since late 2016, volumes have continued to align more closely with levels seen in 2015 and early 2016.
■ A plateau for top-end prices
LonRes says the top end of the market is still registering the most significant house price falls compared with the peak of the market in 2014. However, over the past 12 months the top end of the market has seen negligible price falls, with values plateauing out.
■ Finally, the rental market
According to the Countrywide Lettings Index, meanwhile, the rental market also showed far from stable movements. Rents were down in a number of regions, and fell by 0.3% overall. Notably, they fell by 9.5% in central London.
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