House price fall in decline, says Registry

The rate at which house prices fell in England and Wales declined in March, the Land Registry has said.

Figures from the body published today show the average cost of a home dropped by 0.4 per cent in the month, compared with two per cent in February.

The annual rate of decline also dipped, from 16.5 per cent to 16.2 per cent, something that may provide support for the belief that the property market could be bottoming out.

During March four regions - the north-east, south-west, Wales and London - all saw prices increase, while only the West Midlands matched the two per cent drop seen nationally in February.

Such a figure contrasts with the previous month, when all regions saw price falls.

The London increase follows the recent release of figures from Knight Frank revealing that prices in the prime central London market rose by 0.4 per cent in April, their first improvement in 12 months.