Doomsayers' delight: House price fall hits 2.5% | Money | guardian.co.uk

Doomsayers' delight: House price fall hits 2.5% | Money | guardian.co.uk

Another day, another set of house price figures. According to the Land Registry, prices across England and Wales tracked sideways in June, reaching an average of £161,479 compared with £161,823 in May, taking the annual fall in prices to 2.5%.

London was the only region in England and Wales to experience an increase in prices over the last year (up 0.8%), but annual growth in the capital has now slowed to its narrowest since October 2009.

Wales experienced the largest monthly growth, with average prices there rising by 2.8%, followed by south-east England (1.3%) and the West Midlands (1.1%). North-east England experienced the greatest annual (-7.1%) and monthly (-2.1%) price falls.

From January to April 2011, the number of housing transactions averaged 42,733 per month, down from the same period last year, when sales averaged 45,509. Sales volumes have been relatively consistent over the past six months.