'Welcome surprise' as house prices go up
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UK house prices rose by 0.9 per cent in June, according to the
latest survey from the Nationwide.
The building society said this was the third rise in the past
four months, and shrank the annual rate of decline to just 9.3 per
cent, from 11.3 per cent in May. The increase during the last month
means the average home in the UK now costs £156,442 – £15,973 less
than a year ago.
The Nationwide said the stabilisation of prices was a "welcome
surprise".
"The price of a typical house rose by a seasonally adjusted 0.9
per cent in June, building upon the improving trend seen over the
last several months," said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s chief
economist.
"At £156,442, the average house price across the UK is still 9.3
per cent lower than a year ago, but this marks the first time since
July 2008 that the year-on-year fall has been in single digits. The
three month on three month rate of change – a smoother indicator of
the short-term price trend – turned positive for the first time
since December 2007 to stand at 0.9 per cent, up from -0.4 per cent
in May.
"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."
The Nationwide figures follow on the back of a recent HM Revenue
& Customs report that completed house sales in the UK had risen
again in May, to their highest level since last October.
Thursday, July 02 2009
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