House price pressure in North East

House prices in the North East of England dropped by 4% between February and March according to the Land Registry for England and Wales.

Hartlepool, Darlington, Durham and Middlesbrough were all lower over the month and year on year.

Prices in Wales were down nearly 3% in March.

The figures illustrate the patchy nature of the housing market, with London and the South East still rising, most regions stagnant and some areas showing sharp falls.

For example (month on month):

-3.3% Hartlepool
-1.6% Darlington
-3.1% Middlesbrough

-1.9% Gwynedd
-3.3% Rhondda
-2.3% Bridgend

Across England and Wales as a whole, the value of homes was down 0.8% over March, though still 5.3% higher than 12 months ago.

The average price stands at just over £178,000.

In contrast, recent figures from the Registers for Scotland showed Scottish prices up more than 13% in the last year, with East Lothian up 28.6%.

And the most up to date house prices numbers, from Nationwide yesterday, suggested the market was resuming its upward trend, with an overall increase of 1% between March and April.