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News: UK house prices up 8.8%, say Halifax

Fri, 11 Jul 14


After recording an increase in May, monthly house prices dipped by 0.6 per cent in June to an average of £183,462. This was the fourth monthly price fall since last December, the lender’s house price index reveals.

Monthly movements, however, can be volatile. In terms of the more reliable quarter-on-quarter trend, house prices are 2.3 per cent higher in Q2 2014 than in Q1 2014.  House price change on this measure has now remained steady in a narrow range of 2 to 2.3 per cent since June 2013, suggesting a more stable period of moderate growth rather than unsustainable increases, they claim.

Year-on-year, prices in the three months to June were 8.8 per cent, only marginally higher than the 8.7 per cent growth recorded in May.

Home sales edged down by 3 per cent in May to below 100,000 for the first time in six months, according to HMRC, although transactions are still 15 per cent higher than in May 2013.

New buyer enquires fell for the sixth consecutive month in May, which if sustained could moderate further growth in demand, notes Halifax.

Commenting, Stephen Noakes, Mortgages Director, comments: "Housing demand continues to be supported by an economic recovery that is gathering pace, with employment levels growing and rising consumer confidence, although real earnings growth remains sluggish."

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