Data for January Shows Continued House Price Increase
UK house prices continue to increase Halifax reported for the month of January. The year on year comparison for the first month was 9.7%. The previous month’s year on year comparison was 9.5%. The month to month comparison from December to January was reported as an increase of 1.7%.
The average house price has grown to £212,430.
The supply of properties coming onto the housing market has remained constricted while demand has continued to grow. Consumer confidence, wage growth, a lower jobless level, competition within the housing market, and continued low interest rates from mortgage lenders have all contributed to the increased demand from buyers.
Martin Ellis, economist with Halifax, said, “The imbalance between supply and demand continues to exert significant upward pressure on house prices.
“This situation looks set to persist over the coming months. Further ahead, increasing affordability issues, as price increases continue to exceed wage growth, are likely to curb housing demand and cause price growth to ease.”
Lenders are still in a competitive mode and are seeking the attention of both home buyers for low interest mortgages and homeowners for cheap remortgage deals. However, for hopeful home buyers the high level deposits are difficult to secure. Parents are still a popular source for deposits as young families seek to become homeowners.
The first quarter of the year is expected to show continued strong demand as home buyers push to beat the stamp duty increase that will go into effect in April. Warnings have quieted concerning the possibility of an interest rate increase in the first part of the year, but experts encourage those seeking low interest rates for long fixed terms to take advantage of what is available now.