Halifax sees house price bounce
Posted on 8 January 2008 by
House price growth rallied in December, according to the latest survey from Halifax.
The building society's house price index found that UK house prices lifted by 1.3% in December, contrasting with the three successive falls recorded in previous months.
However, the building society pointed out that overall the housing market continued to slow in the final quarter of the year. Furthermore, at 5.2%, the annual rate of house price inflation made 2007 only the second year since 2001 that prices have increased more slowly than the long-term 8% average.
"This mixed pattern of monthly price rises and falls is a typical characteristic of a subdued market," said Halifax's chief economist Martin Ellis.
Meanwhile, the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) has released figures confirming a large fall in mortgage lending in November. The total lent was over 10% down on the previous month, and almost 10% down on November 2006.
The CML's director-general Michael Coogan said: "There are mixed signals on inflationary pressures here which will make the [Bank of England's] decision finely balanced, but consumer confidence would be further underpinned by another rate cut this week."
The CML also noted that affordability appeared to have slightly improved during the autumn. By November, first-time buyers were borrowing an average of 3.33 times their income, down from a record high of 3.36 times recorded in August.
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