Annual house price growth hits 10.5%
A report by the Nationwide today shows that UK house prices increased by 10.5% in the 12 months to the end of April. The average price of a home in the UK is now £167,802 with a 1% increase in prices during April helping to boost the overall figure. While the increase of 10.5% is welcome and fairly impressive it does come against a backdrop of one of the weaker months from April 2009.
The Nationwide report is relatively upbeat on the UK property market although there is a warning that house price inflation is unlikely to remain in double-digit figures in the coming months. Concern regarding the economy, the employment market, the election and a lack of liquidity in the mortgage market is still holding back many buyers. We are also likely to see an increase in sellers in the coming months as the financial squeeze created by the recession continues to impact upon the ability of many home owners in the UK to cover their mortgage payments.
Many of the recent property market surveys have given mixed signals, highlighting the very fragile nature of the recovery in not only the property market but the UK economy as a whole. There is the potential for a freeze in debt markets within Europe which would increase the cost of finance for mortgage companies and ultimately homebuyers.
Share this..
Related stories
Barratt Developments reports £592.4 million loss
Barratt Developments has today announced a £592.4 million loss for 2008 compared with a profit of approaching £200 million for the previous year. While the massive loss includes a £494 million write-down on the company's land bank it is within the scope of analyst forecasts and while initially the figures look disappointing they may not be as bad as first thought.
The company has...
Crunch hitting first time buyers
First time buyers are finding it increasingly hard to get on the housing ladder, one of the UK's largest homebuilders has warned. Latterly, the credit crunch has forced banks to tighten their lending criteria, meaning that it is currently much harder to secure home loans than before. First time buyers are the group most likely to suffer, with lenders now typically asking for deposits of 25 per cen...
Read MoreNew watchdog for social housing
A new watchdog to oversee social housing standards has been announced by the government.The communities secretary Ruth Kelly presented the plans at a speech in Harrogate today with the aim of empowering tenants in situations with below standard landlords.About eight million people currently live in social housing, prompting the government to launch an independent review last year conducted by Prof...
Read MoreHomeowners urged to carry out 'winter property checks'
General upkeep and maintenance of property is especially important in winter, homeowners have been warned. Legal & General (L&G) suggested that the value of houses makes it financial sense as well as common sense to keep a house in a good state of repair. Insurers could penalise or dismiss claims if a house has not been looked after. Elaine Parkes, head of technical services at L&G's general insu...
Read MoreNumber of properties for sale hits 18 months high
The number of properties available in the UK has hit an 18 month high with just short of 130,000 properties for sale in the UK. This brings the weekly average for the last two months to over 25,000 a week which is the longest run of properties coming onto the market since August 2008. The 25,000 a week figure was confirmed by Rightmove Plc which is the U.K.'s largest property website and a leader...
Read More