Property prices up again
House prices rose by 0.6 per cent in April, official figures from the Land Registry (LR) show.Although this monthly increase represents a slight decrease on March's figure, the new annual growth figure of 9.1 per cent is still among the highest for two years.The average price of a property in England and Wales now stands at £179,935, up from £178,423 in March.But most of this growth came from London, the LR said, where growth was six per cent higher than elsewhere in England and Wales. In April alone house prices in the capital rose 2.3 per cent.Smaller properties are driving most of the growth, with flats and maisonettes seeing a year-on-year change of 10.2 per cent compared to detached properties' 7.5 per cent.The lowest rate of price increases was in the East Midlands, where growth stood at just six per cent.Today's figures suggest a slight cooling down in the market as affordability constraints and interest rate rises begin to take their toll.But the market continues to show signs of strength as the underlying relationship between strong demand and limited supply remains stable.
Share this..
Related stories
Public sector borrowing hits record high
Net public sector borrowing in the UK hit a record high of £15.3 billion in August which was up from £14.1 billion over the same period last year. This was well ahead of analyst forecasts of a £12.5 billion shortfall and is likely to see the UK government miss its target annual borrowing figure of £149 billion. While the figure for the August was a surprise to say the least it does further str...
Read MoreQuoted company profit warnings hit seven year high
Accountancy group Ernst & Young has today revealed that the number of UK listed companies which announced profit warnings in 2008 reached a seven-year high of 449. This is a substantial increase on the figure seen in 2007 but many are concerned that we will see more bad news in 2009. However, are we in some way talking ourselves into a deeper recession or are things really as bad as people may hav...
Read MoreCould one bad apple bring down the European Union?
As the European Central Bank looks for all European governments to practice tight fiscal governance there is concern that one bad apple could bring down the whole European Union. Despite the fact that many people automatically assumed the worst of the credit crunch and worldwide recession was over, the collapse of the Greek economy has been an unwelcome reminder for the investment arena. While...
Read MoreNorthern Rock shareholders continue legal fight
A group of Northern Rock shareholders have today taken their fight back into the courtroom in an attempt to overturn a recent ruling which suggested the UK government was able to value the business as if it was in administration prior to nationalisation. The group of shareholders, which includes SRM Global and RAB Capital, has constantly argued that the business was still a going concern just prio...
Read MoreBarclays bank challenges PPI ban
It has been revealed that Barclays bank, along with Lloyds bank, is set to challenge the UK government's controversial decision to ban the sale of payment protection insurance when credit arrangements are agreed. The ban, which will come into force in October 2010, will see a cooling off period of seven days before any credit provider can approach a customer regarding the sale of payment protectio...
Read More