As was expected the figures on house prices for April revealed a slump as the temporary boost in the first quarter of the year came to an end.  The nearing end of the two year stamp duty holiday that ended on March 24 brought out those looking to buy to take advantage of the savings.  After the end of the stamp duty holiday the true level returned for the housing market which was revealed by the decline in April figures.

Data from the Land Registry showed that house prices in England and Wales dropped by 0.3 per cent in April.  This brings the average price to £160,417 which is also a drop of 1% against an annual comparison.

The data falls in line with the reporting on house prices from Halifax, Nationwide, and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

As has been normal, the house prices in London showed an increase which helped the overall average from revealing a further drop than what was reported.  London house prices increased by 5.1 per cent in April which is also the same level of increase revealed when doing an annual comparison.  The largest decline in house prices was recorded for West Midlands with a monthly decline of 2.7 per cent.  The largest annual decline was 5.6 per cent recorded for Yorkshire and Humberside.

"The divergence between house prices in London and those of the rest of the country has increased sharply this month," the Land Registry said.

"The average price of property in the capital is £360,721 in comparison with the average for England and Wales of £160,417."