House prices "subdued" in March
House prices in the UK rose by just one per cent in March, Halifax's latest market survey has shown.The bank says that the increase in property values felt last month was the smallest for eight months.On a quarterly basis, prices were up 2.8 per cent, well behind the 4.2 per cent growth experienced in the first three months of 2006.Despite annual house price inflation rising to 11.1 per cent, Halifax predicts the figure "should settle" in the coming months due to the market's "subdued" conditions."Prices continue to rise in a tight market but there are emerging signs that pressure on householders' finances - partly due to the rise in interest rates since last summer - is dampening housing demand with evidence of reduced market activity," commented group economist Tim Crawford."We expect the recent rises in interest rates, negative real earnings growth and above inflation council tax bill increases to lead to slower house price growth over the coming months. Sound economic fundamentals and an ongoing shortage of housing supply will, however, continue to support house prices."Prices increased in all British regions in March, Halifax says, with the largest rises experienced in Scotland (7.5 per cent) and the south-west (5.4 per cent).In comparison, properties in the East Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber went up by 0.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.In Northern Ireland meanwhile, the average house price broke the £200,000 barrier during the last quarter, meaning only London, the south-east and the south-west have higher average house prices.Two years ago Scotland was the only British region with a lower average property price than Northern Ireland.
Share this..
Related stories
UK savers withdrew £2.3 billion in January
It has been revealed that UK savers withdrew a massive £2.3 billion from their deposit accounts in the month of January. This beats the previous record by a significant £800 million and perfectly reflects the fact that many savers are now looking for alternative investments as interest rates near 0%. However, there is still a massive £568.2 billion on deposit in the UK which is there for the UK...
Read MoreCredit card users struggling to meet monthly bills
UK credit card customers are still struggling to cover their monthly bills even though the UK economy is showing some signs of recovery. While the headlines across the UK would indicate we are on the verge of an economic recovery, the situation regarding personal debt is one which will drag on for some time to come. Many people have overstretched themselves for the last few years and been at break...
Read MoreTexas Pacific Group Eyeing Up More UK Acquisitions
While the ink may not yet have dried on their deal to buy a 23% stake in Bradford and Bingley, there are rumours that Texas Pacific Group is looking at a whole host of other UK banks with a view to taking more stakes in the sector. There have also been a number of other prominent investors mentioned, such as Blackstone, KKR and JC Flowers, as private equity firms look to take advantage of the rec...
Read MoreWere Chinese state employees involved in cyber attacks on Google?
Security experts in China are currently unearthing evidence regarding various cyber attacks on Google and a number of prominent business websites in the country. There are allegations, as yet unfounded, and that the Chinese state authorities may well have been involved in the various cyber attacks and this threatens to drive a wedge between the Chinese authorities and the US authorities. As we...
Read MoreRegulatory changes will cost UK government £50 million
At a time when the UK authorities are slashing public budgets in almost every department of the government, it has been revealed that the abolishment of the FSA and the transfer of regulatory power back to the Bank of England will cost the UK government £50 million. There will be a mountain of legal work and reorganising for the government to do in a relatively short space of time which is predom...
Read More