Property Prices Rise 1.2% in Wales

The latest figures published by the Land Registry on June 26th suggest that property prices in Wales increased for the third successive month, this time by 1.2% leaving an average Welsh house priced at £119, 990.
It is interesting to note that the rise in property, which was witnessed in May, followed a 0.3% and a 1% increase in April and March accordingly, which were in their turn preceded by a 3.6% and an 8.8% decline in February and January respectively.
However, the property prices in Wales and England still remain quite low when they are being compared to those in May 2008: £152,497 vs. £181,435.
Mr. Tony Filice, a partner at a Cardiff-based estate agency Kelvin Francis and a residential spokesman for the Welsh branch of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), is determined that the increased activity on the housing market and a growing number of agreed property sales can be explained by acceptable asking prices on property and increased mortgage availability.
He also added that the return of buyers’ confidence might result in a so-called domino effect, which means that hesitating buyers will be encouraged to translate their interest into actual purchases. Mr. Filice was pleased to comment on the latest Land Registry figures; he said that the data revealed that May saw more than 30,000 property sales were agreed. The RICS spokesman added that the organization expects this figure to rise up to 40,000 shortly if the positive trend on the market continues.
Unfortunately, the market stabilization cannot be seen all over Wales; only the south part of the region witnesses an improvement due to the fact that Cardiff and other major cities are located in the South of Wales. This fact finds its proof in the statement of Mr. Dafydd Hardy, a representative of an estate agency, located in the North West of Wales, which suggests that the market recovery in Wales will be W- shaped, meaning that the upsurge in prices will be preceded by a slump.