UK Halifax House Prices Rise For Second Month
December 07 2023 - 2:33AM
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UK house prices increased for the second successive month in
November largely reflecting shortage of properties, results of a
survey by the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and S&P Global
showed Thursday.
House prices grew 0.5 percent in November from October, when
they rose 1.2 percent. The pace of growth also exceeded forecast of
0.3 percent. Compared to last year, house prices decreased only 1.0
percent, following a 3.1 percent fall in October.
Despite the wider economic headwinds, property prices held up
better than expected, Halifax Mortgages Director Kim Kinnaird
said.
House prices showed resilience during this year underpinned by a
shortage of properties coming to the market rather than any
significant strengthening of buyer demand, Kinnaird noted.
However, there was a slight uptick in activity levels as a
result of an improving picture on affordability for homebuyers,
Halifax director said.
With the easing of mortgage rates, they may lead to push up
buyer confidence.
"However, the economic conditions remain uncertain, making it
hard to assess the extent to which market activity will be
maintained," Kinnaird said.
Data showed that Northern Ireland was the strongest performing
region in the UK, with house prices climbing 2.3 percent on an
annual basis.
London retained the top spot for the highest average house price
in the UK, at GBP 524,592.
Market expectations that the interest rate has peaked and the
next move from the Bank of England will be a rate cut in the next
year helped to ease pressure on mortgage rates.
The BoE had kept its key interest rate unchanged at 5.25 percent
at November and September meetings, snapping a streak of 14
consecutive rate hikes.
The rate was lifted by a cumulative 515 basis points since
December 2021.
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