House Prices rise for fifth consecutive Month
House prices in the UK rose again in February, for the fifth successive month.
Figures from Nationwide building Society show that the average price of a house in the UK now stands at £162,638, a rise of almost £1,500 from February 2012. There has been inconsistency in the housing market over the past twelve months, but there now seems to be a trend forming with rising prices for the last five months, with the latest results showing prices creeping up by 0.2pc in February. In total prices for the last quarter have risen by 0.6pc, a clearer indicator that the market is heading in the right direction.
The improvement in the housing market, according to Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, can be credited much to the Governments Funding for Lending scheme launched in August 2012, which brought down mortgage rates, making them more accessible for consumers.
However he also warned not to become over optimistic: “While the economic backdrop remains challenging, there are reasons for cautious optimism that activity will gather momentum in the months ahead. In particular, employment is rising at its fastest pace since the late 1990’s, which if maintained, should help support demand for homes” he said.
Earlier this week we revealed that two out of three people were looking to purchase new property within the next 12 months, after recording results from a poll on our site. Couple this with rising house prices and the outlook for the housing market looks encouraging.
Share this..
Related stories
Another day another positive note for the UK property sector
Yesterday's news from Bovis Homes was well received by the UK stock market amid signs that the UK housing sector is starting to stabilise. However, while many analysts were upbeat about the sector as a whole there were a number who were cautious about calling the bottom although after the results from Persimmon, one of the more prominent UK housebuilders, perhaps everybody will feel a little more...
Read MoreHBOS Calls It A Day On 53 Estate Agency Branches
News that HBOS has closed down 53 of its Halifax estate agency branches was not totally unexpected but may not be the last of the closures. The move has resulted in 100 job losses with news that elsewhere in the group 450 employees have been relocated to different areas of the company. While this news is still being digested it also seems as though HBOS will consider 'selective asset disposals'...
Read MoreFitch expects UK house prices to fall by 20%
In a rather startling report, ratings agency Fitch has today issued a suggestion that UK house prices will fall by 20% once the current "false dawn" has worked through the system. While this is definitely the most downbeat report about the UK property sector for some time, there has been a feeling in some quarters that the UK property sector was not performing half as well as some would have you b...
Read MoreIs it safe to look at short-term house price performance?
This week's news that UK house prices have risen year-on-year for the first time since March 2008 has injected a dose of enthusiasm back into the UK investment market but is it safe to take one month's figures in isolation and make investment decisions upon these?
While the truth is there have been a number of positive months in the UK property market, there would appear to be a gre...
Northern Ireland house prices continue to fall
Despite indications that the UK housing market is showing signs of recovery the same cannot be said of Northern Ireland where prices are still falling at a substantial rate. Amid claims that the average UK property value rose by 1.1% in the second quarter of 2009 the same period in Northern Ireland showed a fall of 4.7%. So why the big difference?
When you consider that the average...