UK house prices fall in January
The average price of a home fell in January for the first time in five months, as inflation in the UK continued to slow.
Research from Nationwide indicates that prices fell by 0.1 per cent, coming down from £188,446 in January to £187,964, while annual house price growth slowed for the sixth consecutive month.
The amount of home loans that were approved in January was also below the six month average, standing at 60,786, a small rise from the 60,349 approved in December, according to figures released by the Bank of England.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner said: “Mortgage rates remain close to all-time lows and consumer confidence remains buoyant thanks to a further steady improvement in labour market conditions”.
However, the market has continued to cool and Nationwide has said that the catalyst for this could be the long-term decline in the number of young first-time buyers in the market. Between 2004 and 2014 the number of households where the main occupant is aged between 24 and 34 where the home is owned and not rented fell by 23 per cent, from 59 per cent to 36 per cent.
On the other hand, the number of people who are homeowners and have either managed to complete mortgage repayments or have bought a home mortgage-free overtook the number of people who own their property but are still making mortgage repayments.
With the general election approaching, most major political parties have outlined plans to get more young first-time buyers onto the property ladder using a housebuilding programme, while the current government has said that it will offer a discount of up to 20 per cent to first-time buyers as part of its ‘Starter Homes’ scheme.
Share this..
Related stories
Is the Bank of England turning negative on the UK economy?
There is a feeling within financial circles that the Bank of England may be starting to turn a little negative on the UK economy and the prospects for 2010. At a time when many people assume the economy is over the worst, signs from Bank of England over the last 24 hours seem to indicate that confidence in 2010 is not as high as it has been over the last few weeks. So what is the problem? One o...
Read MoreUK Inflation remains constant in November
Official data has shown that there was no change in UK consumer prices inflation last month as it remains at 2.7%. According the Office for National Statistics; Cereals, fruit, bread and energy bills saw the most rapid increase in prices, whilst petrol prices fell 3p a litre to £1.35 and diesel dropped 1.5p to £1.42 a litre. Carpets, beer and plane ticket prices also saw a decrease in November f...
Read MoreHas Willie Walsh won the battle with the Unite union?
While the ongoing battle between British Airways and the Unite union continues there are many who believe that Willie Walsh is now in the driving seat and looking to crush the union in the short to medium term. But is the union movement really about to roll over and give in? History shows that the union movement is at its most dangerous when the chips are down and the odds seem to be stacked ag...
Read MoreEmergency budget knocks consumer confidence
Despite the fact that the UK government was effectively forced into announcing an emergency budget on 22 June, as any government would have been, it seems as though this has impacted upon consumer confidence in the short-term. A report by uSwitch confirms that 45% of people in the UK are concerned about their finances and 49% now feel worse off than ever before. So what can George Osborne do to tu...
Read MoreWhen Charity Begins At Home
When organisers of the Absolute Return for Kids (Ark) charity dinner sat down to discuss their hopes for the event, they were forced to scale down their target from the £28 million raised last year to a ‘mere’ £15 million. However, on the night the dinner managed to raise a mighty impressive £25 million, at an event where tickets cost a staggering £10,000 each.
Th...