House Price Rises Lowest For Two Years
08-28-2015
House affordability shows signs of increasing as both wages and house prices rise at similar rates.
UK house prices edge higher in August but annual growth slows to just 3.2% as the market shows signs of 'stabilising'.
Data released by Nationwide this morning suggests that the average house price is creeping ever nearer to the £200,000 level.
Prices in August were 3.2% higher year on year meaning that the average UK house price is now £195,279.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: "This month’s data provides further evidence that annual house price growth may be stabilising close to the pace of earnings growth, which has historically been around 4%."
Latest figures from the Office of National Statistics reveals that pay for employees in Great Britain increased by 2.4% including bonuses and by 2.8% excluding bonuses, indicating that rates of growth of both house prices and wages are converging.
Mr Gardner added: "The annual rate of price growth was the weakest since June 2013; this partly reflects the high base for comparison, since prices increased at a particularly strong rate in August 2014."
This means that house prices are becoming more affordable.