2017年 07月 03日

UK House prices rebound to new record level

June sees biggest monthly rise for two years, with property values up 1.1 per cent. House prices bounced back in a big way after suffering their most prolonged decline for eight years, according to figures published today. Nationwide’s latest house price index showed a rise of 1.1 per cent, the fastest single-month increase since April 2015 and taking the average valuation to £211,301.

On an annual basis, house prices have risen 3.1 per cent year-on-year, an increase from 2.1 per cent in May to mark a return to the three to five per cent growth seen consistently since early 2015. The increase has also wiped out the cumulative decline of 0.9 per cent for the falls recorded in each of the three months to May.

A key part of this trend is a move in the main drivers of growth away from London and the south-east to other regions. Nationwide tracked 1.2 per cent growth in house prices in the capital for the three months to June, the slowest rate since 2012 and the second-worst performance across the country. East Anglia, meanwhile, registered five per cent.

House prices in the capital rose at their slowest rate for more than five years last month, according to figures from the housing researcher Hometrack. Its index, which tracks activity in 20 UK cities and is used by many of the UK’s top mortgage lenders, shows that prices in London gained 3.3 per cent over the year to the end of May, putting the average house price at £492,200, reports Bloomberg.

In contrast, house price growth in Birmingham was 7.7 per cent over the past year, while Manchester, Leicester and Nottingham posted gains of 6.8 per cent. Richard Donnell, research and insight director at Hometrack, told FTAdviser: “So long as the economy continues to grow, and mortgage rates remain low, we expect house prices to keep rising at a steady rate and close the gap with London.”