30/06/2009

House Prices Rise In June

House prices rose by 0.9% in June, building upon the improving trend seen over the last several months, according to Nationwide.

At £156,442, the average house price across the UK was still 9.3% lower than last year, however this is the first time since July 2008 that the year-on-year fall has been in single digits.

Commenting on the figures Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "If the pattern of price movements seen in the first half of the year is repeated over the second half, then prices could show only a small single digit fall for 2009 as a whole. This would represent a stark shift from trends seen at the turn of the year, when most indicators were pointing to a repeat of the large declines seen in 2008.

"House prices have now risen in three of the last four months, suggesting that the improvement that began to show up in March represents more than just statistical noise. What is unusual about the recent trend reversal, however, is that it has taken place against a background of transactions activity that is still very low by historical standards.

"Although it has risen from the all-time record low reached in November 2008, the industry-wide number of mortgages approved for house purchases is still 55% below its long-run average and 33% below the trough reached in the 1990s downturn. Normally, such a low level of house purchases would be associated with falling house prices."

He added: "Alongside the low level of mortgage approvals, however, there continues to be a relentless drop in the stock of property available for sale, as potential sellers and builders have responded to depressed demand conditions by reducing the supply of property coming onto the market."

However, the results show that there are still considerable headwinds facing the demand side and until there is a more robust recovery in house purchase activity, it is too early to be confident about a full-scale recovery of prices.

(CD/JM)

Related UK National News Stories
Click here for the latest headlines.

07 September 2005
Halifax reports house prices rise
House prices rose by 1.6% in August, the UK’s biggest mortgage lender, has reported. However, the Halifax warned that the rise could be temporary, boosted by the recent interest rates cuts by the Bank of England. The price rise in August followed a modest 0.4% increase in July and was the biggest monthly rise since September 2004.
02 October 2008
House Prices Fall By 1.7%
UK house prices dropped by 1.7% in September leaving the average property costing £161,797 according to figures by the Nationwide Building Society. Overall house prices have fallen 12.4% in a year, however Nationwide said prices will continue to drop in short term but longer prospects are more sound.
29 February 2008
January House Prices Show Slight Increase
House prices in England and Wales increased by just 0.9% in January, according to the latest monthly figures from Land Registry. The increase takes the average house price to £186,045. However, the data shows a decline in annual house price changes, from 6.7% last month to 6.4% this month. London experienced annual price growth of 13.
13 August 2007
House Prices Rise By 12% In June
UK annual house price inflation in June 2007 was 12.1%, up from 10.8% in May 2007. Annual house price inflation in London was 17.5% in June, up from 14.3% in May. The UK annual house price inflation rate for the 3 months to June was 11.3% and 15.1% in London. The UK house price inflation rate rose from 10.8% in May 2007 to 12.1% in June 2007.
12 December 2005
House price inflation drops
Annual house price inflation dropped again in October, according to the latest figures from the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister. House price inflation was 2.2% in October, a fall from September’s figure of 3.3%. The ODPM reported that the average house price in the UK was £186,103 in October, compared with £186,755 in September.