House prices went up 7.5% over 2013 – despite a dip in December, according to the country’s biggest lender.
The bank, which bases it monthly index on mortgages it has agreed, had predicted movement of -2% to 2% over the course of 2013, but a stronger than anticipated recovery in the wider economy, combined with government stimulus including the Help to Buy scheme, led to stronger growth.
Halifax reported a 0.6% drop in prices during December, taking the average UK house price to £173,467. However, it said monthly figures could be volatile, and the three-month data was a more reliable indicator of the underlying trend. This showed growth of 1.9%.
Its annual growth figure is based on a comparison of quarterly year-on-year comparisons, and a straight comparison of prices in December 2012 and December 2013 showed a 5% increase.
Halifax’s housing economist, Martin Ellis, said: “Mounting signs that the economic recovery is becoming firmly established, together with a predicted decline in unemployment, should further boost consumer confidence over the coming months.
“This will increase the likelihood that more people will consider buying a property in 2014, therefore supporting housing demand.”
via theguardian.com
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Alfonso Esparza
trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
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