Press Release 5th May 2004
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FT House Price Index – April 2004
The FT House Price Index, calculated by Acadametrics, rose by 0.5% in April to an annual rate of 16.5%. The monthly rate of increase in the index continues its steady decline from the high point of last summer suggesting an easing in house price inflation. But the annual rate has risen again, as the low points around the start of last year drop out. We expect the annual rate to remain strong in May but likely to fall, thereafter, as the strong monthly rises of last summer fall out of the index.
We expect the Land Registry quarterly figures to rise, from the 12½% annual increase in the fourth quarter of 2003, to around 14½% in the first quarter of 2004. The FT House Price Index was the first index last year to record the upturn in the annual rate now seen in most indices.
Applying our monthly percentage changes, we estimate the FT House Price Index, on a seasonally adjusted basis, as follows:
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House
Price |
Index |
Monthly
Change % |
Annual
Change % |
|
April
2004 |
£173,198 |
166.1 |
0.5 |
16.5 |
|
March 2004 |
£172,344 |
165.3 |
0.9 |
15.7 |
|
February 2004 |
£170,795 |
163.8 |
0.9 |
14.5 |
|
January 2004 |
£169,223 |
162.3
|
1.1
|
13.4
|
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December 2003 |
£167,315 |
160.5 |
1.2 |
13.1 |
|
November 2003 |
£165,251 |
158.5 |
1.7 |
12.5 |
Compared to the relative stability of the FT House Price Index, ODPM and the major lenders continue to report a more unsettled month on month position. On an annual basis, Halifax and Nationwide continue to record results above the FT House Price Index whilst results from ODPM and Rightmove are below. Hometrack’s results are much lower still.
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Also see www.ft.com/houseprices |