House prices rise by 3% in first half of 2010
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House prices have increased by 3% in the first half of 2010, according to Nationwide.
Growing by 0.1% in June the figure was slightly down on the 0.5% boost in May but the three month on three month rate grew from 1.7% to 1.8%.
Yet the annual rate of house price inflation dropped for the second consecutive month, and by more than 1%, from 9.8% to 8.7%.
And Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at Nationwide, expects the annual rate of inflation to continue to drop after very strong price increase in the summer of 2009.
He adds: “Recent indicators point to an increase in the supply of property coming to the market for sale, perhaps in response to the abolition of HIPs in the opening days of the new coalition government. With the level of demand remaining broadly stable, this would in part help to explain the recent slowdown observed in the rate of house price inflation.”
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Readers' comments (1)
Roger Porter | 30 Jun 2010 10:48 am
What a surprise. Talk to any agent or valuer and they will have told you this long before now. The market has cooled significantly almost since the day of the election and with supply up, mortgage lending static, confidence dithering, an emergency budget yet to unroll, the summer recess almost upon us and looming loan repayments for the financial sector for the next two quarters, it ain't going to get any better for a while. We'll be lucky (very) to avoid a slide in house prices through the Autumn. Interest rates will stay low though and maybe mortgage rates will have to continue their slow but inexorable fall if there is to be any sustained recovery.
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