Land Registry (National): URGENT CORRECTION: March House Prices down 1.1 per cent since February: Average house price in England and Wales now £160,996

The March data from Land Registry's flagship House Price Index shows an annual price decrease of 2.3 per cent which takes the average property value in England and Wales to £160,996. The monthly change from February to March is a decrease of 1.1 per cent.

One region in England and Wales experienced an increase in its average property value over the last 12 months. This was London with an annual price change increase of 0.8 per cent. The region which experienced the greatest monthly rise was The North West with a movement of 0.7 per cent. The North East experienced the greatest annual price fall with a decrease of -9.3 per cent. Wales is the region with the most significant monthly price fall with a movement of -3.3 per cent.

The most up-to-date figures available show that during January 2011, the number of completed house sales in England and Wales rose by 2 per cent to 36,425 from 35,809 in January 2010. The number of properties sold in England and Wales for over £1 million increased by 6 per cent between January 2010 and January 2011, from 460 to 486.

For more information go to www1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices
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To view the tables that accompany this release, please follow the link below:

http://nds.coi.gov.uk/ImageLibrary/detail.aspx?MediaDetailsID=3656

ENDS

Notes to editors

1. Since 2006, Land Registry's House Price Index (HPI), which is available free atwww1.landregistry.gov.uk/houseprices has gathered its own momentum to become a leading indicator of property movement within England and Wales. It is widely viewed as "the most accurate barometer of the housing market".

2. The HPI is published on the twentieth working day of each month. The April Index will be published at 11am on Tuesday 31 May 2011.

3. The HPI uses a sample size that is larger than all other statistical measures available. It is calculated using Land Registry's dataset of all residential property sales completed in England and Wales since January 1995.

4. Land Registry's dataset contains details on 16 million residential transactions. Of these, over six million are identifiable matched pairs, providing the basis for the repeat sales regression analysis used to complete the index. This technique of quality adjustment ensures an "apples to apples" comparison between properties.

5. With the largest transactional database of its kind detailing over 22 million titles, Land Registry underpins the economy by safeguarding ownership of many billions of pounds worth of property.

6. As a government department established in 1862, executive agency and trading fund responsible to the Lord Chancellor and Secretary of State for Justice, Land Registry keeps and maintains the Land Register for England and Wales. The Land Register has been an open document since 1990.

7. For further information about Land Registry visit www.landregistry.gov.uk

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