UK house prices climb to record even as sales slow in London

[LONDON] UK house prices climbed to a record last month as a slowdown in London sales was offset by a stronger market in the north of the country, according to a report by Acadata and LSL Property Services Plc.

Prices in England and Wales rose 0.3 per cent from April to an average of 303,200 pounds (S$534,150), despite the uncertainties of the general election campaign, the groups said in a report published Monday. Prices were up 4.8 per cent on an annual basis, the biggest jump since January.

The data underscore the resilience of Britain's housing market and how it's increasingly finding momentum outside the high-priced areas of southern England and the capital. The West Midlands and the East of England posted the biggest annual price increases in the three months through April, with both showing gains of 5.1 per cent.

In London, the average price of a home rose just 0.1 per cent in April to 615,838 pounds, according to the report. Sales for the three months through April were 29 per cent lower than in the same period last year.

Some prime areas of London saw a recovery in the market, though, including the two highest-priced boroughs of Kensington and Chelsea - where the average house price is just shy of 2 million pounds - and the City of Westminster, according to the report.

BLOOMBERG