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News: House Prices Up 1.1%, Says Halifax

Wed, 05 Aug 09

House prices rose by 1.1% in July, according to the Halifax’s latest house price index.

According to the lender the cost of the average home is now £159,623 and prices during the three months to July were 0.8% higher than the previous three months. This is the first rise in Halifax’s quarterly house price figures since October 2007.

Key factors in the rise include a lack of available housing stock, low interest rates and falling prices over the last two years.

The figures also show that house-price-to-earnings ratio has also fallen markedly since the property market peak of summer 2007. The ratio was 5.84 in July 2007 but has fallen to 4.36 in July 2009. The Halifax says that the long-term average is 4.0.

Martin Ellis, the Halifax's housing economist, said: “Demand for homes has risen, albeit from a very low base, since the start of the year, driven by improvements in affordability and low interest rates."

"Higher demand has combined with the low levels of property available for sale to boost sales activity from exceptionally low levels and support prices over the past few months," he added.

This latest house price index from the Halifax brings the lender in line with other indices, such as Home.co.uk Asking Price Index, which have also shown price increases.

 

By Joe Lepper

See also: Asking Price Index, House Prices and Trends by Town and Postcode

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