UK property prices show strongest rise since 2007
07-10-2014
By Dailyrecord.co.uk
Halifax have reported a house price hike of 8.8% – the strongest annual increase in seven years.
UK property prices are up annually, though there are signs the market may be cooling.
House prices surged by 8.8% in June in the strongest rise since 2007, according to a new report.
The annual increase reported by Halifax took the average UK house price to £183,462, although on a month-on-month basis prices slipped back by 0.6%, marking the fourth monthly price fall seen since last December.
The year-on-year uplift in property values has accelerated on an 8.7% annual increase recorded in May and marks the biggest year-on-year jump seen since October 2007, the figures show.
A year ago, house prices were increasing annually at less than half the pace they are now, by 3.7%.
The latest 0.6% monthly drop in property values marks a large swing backwards from a month-on-month increase of 4% recorded in May.
Halifax said month-on-month price changes can often be "volatile" and its quarter-on-quarter measure of price fluctuations is a more reliable indicator of what is happening in the market.
This quarterly measure revealed that the underlying direction for house prices is still pointing upwards. Property values between April and June this year were 2.3% higher than they were between January and March.
Halifax said that this measure has remained steady since June 2013, with quarterly increases ranging between 2% and 2.3% consistently recorded over the last year.
Stephen Noakes, mortgages director at Halifax, said: "Housing demand continues to be supported by an economic recovery that is gathering pace, with employment levels growing and rising consumer confidence, although real earnings growth remains sluggish."
Last week, building society Nationwide reported that its house price study was showing that values have surpassed their 2007 peak to stand at a new all-time average high of £188,903.
Nationwide said London property values have surged by nearly 26% year-on-year, leading some economists to warn that the risk of a sharp correction in prices at some point in the coming years is growing.