House price changes `higher than reported`

1 May 2009

A leading mortgage expert has suggested that the seasonally adjusted measure of house prices does not accurately reflect the state of the market.

Ray Boulger of independent mortgage experts John Charcol claims that the seasonally adjusted house price figures from Nationwide and Halifax do not give the full picture, and believes that the `real change` in house prices is significant.

Indeed, while Nationwide reported a -0.4% seasonally adjusted change in house prices in April, the `real` change was actually a rise of 0.6%, meaning that overall, the actual price of an average property went up.

Mr Charcol`s comment gives a different view to the usual coverage of the housing market. Most areas of the media have reported almost continuous falls in house prices, with only a single rise - of 0.9% - reported by Nationwide since October 2007.

The housing market has struggled in recent months due, partly due to limited mortgage availability.

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Tags: mortgage, house prices, prices, house price report, Nationwide, Halifax, house price report

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