London house prices dip despite UK rises

London house prices fell again in February even as average home values across the UK edged higher. (gov.uk) The UK House Price Index published on April 22 said the average London property cost £542,000 in February, down 1.9% from January and down 3.3% from a year earlier. Across the UK, the average price was £268,000, up 0.1% on the month and 1.2% on the year. (gov.uk) England’s average price was £290,000, up 0.2% on the month but only 0.8% on the year, while London recorded the weakest annual change of any English region. HM Land Registry’s release said the capital has now posted seven straight months of annual declines. (gov.uk) (aol.com) The gap matters for sellers and buyers because London is moving differently from the rest of the market at the same time borrowing costs remain high. The Bank of England’s next Monetary Policy Committee decision is due on Thursday, April 30, and the current Bank Rate is 3.75%. (bankofengland.co.uk) Bank Rate is the benchmark that influences mortgage pricing, even though lenders also price loans off swap markets and their own funding costs. A rate hold or cut on April 30 would not automatically change every mortgage offer, but it would shape expectations for remortgaging and new loans. (bankofengland.co.uk) The official house-price series is backward-looking because it is based on completed sales logged by HM Land Registry and other public registries. That means the February data reflects deals agreed weeks or months earlier, before the Bank’s April decision. (gov.uk) (ons.gov.uk) London still has the UK’s highest average house price by a wide margin, so even a 3.3% annual fall leaves the typical home far above the national average. The February gap was about £274,000 between London’s £542,000 average and the UK’s £268,000 figure. (gov.uk) For now, the headline is a split market: modest national growth, but another monthly and annual drop in London ahead of the Bank of England’s April 30 rate call. (gov.uk) (bankofengland.co.uk)