Rate hikes 'slowing house price growth'
Three interest rate rises in five months are slowing the UK housing market, building society Nationwide has claimed.The building society's latest house price monitor shows a monthly increase in residential house prices from 0.3 per cent in January to 0.7 per cent in February but Nationwide believes indicators are emerging which suggest the market is beginning to slow.Having experienced a slower initial response by mortgage rate-setters to the Bank of England's lead, interest rates are now beginning to stretch affordability and inhibit greater growth."While the three recent rate rises now seem to be starting to take their toll on the market, not all indicators are cooling just yet," Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide's chief economist, said."Buyer interest and mortgage demand are waning, but the supply of properties coming onto the market remains low. This lack of supply will mean that house price inflation will remain firm for a while longer, before gradually easing."The average UK house price is now £174,706, Nationwide said, while the market's annual growth rose from January's 9.3 per cent to 10.2 per cent in February.Figures for January released this morning by the Land Registry, the most comprehensive and accurate monthly analyser of Britain's housing market, revealed monthly growth of 0.9 per cent and annual change of 7.7 per cent. It said that London's growth had led the market since March last year.
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