Annual house price growth picks up to 2.5%: Nationwide

The annual rate of house price growth picked up slightly in October to 2.5%, from a revised 2.3% in September, according to the latest Nationwide house price index.

Related topics:  Finance News
Rozi Jones
1st November 2017
House money pound price growth
"We weren’t expecting to see much in the way of price growth, bearing in mind all the recent signals that interest rates may rise imminently."

Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “Nevertheless, annual house price growth remains within the 2-4% range that has prevailing since March. Low mortgage rates and healthy rates of employment growth are providing some support for demand, but this is being partly offset by pressure on household incomes, which appears to be weighing on confidence. The lack of homes on the market is providing support to house prices.

“Economic growth was a little stronger than expected in Q3, increasing the likelihood of a rate rise on 2nd November. But, providing labour market conditions do not weaken significantly, the impact of a small rate rise on most UK households is likely to be modest."

Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and former RICS residential chairman, commented: "These figures are particularly interesting as we weren’t expecting to see much in the way of price growth, bearing in mind all the recent signals that interest rates may rise imminently. However, we have found that most of the people we talk to have already taken into account the possibility of a rise in interest rates as it has been talked about for so long.

"We have certainly seen this pattern on the high street where shortage of stock and slow transaction rates are having an impact but certainly there is still sufficient confidence for buyers and sellers to move if the circumstances are right."

Founder and CEO of eMoov, Russell Quirk, added: “Despite a number of significant, testing events the UK property market and the economy as a whole have shown an air of defiance and both outperformed wider negative predictions.
 
"With a slow but consistent recovery from such detrimental proceedings as the EU referendum and the shambolic snap election, it is unlikely that any marginal increase in interest rates that may come this week will stifle this growth.
 
"Not only will any rates rise seen this week be financially palatable for UK homeowners, a swelling population both native and from abroad, coupled with a severe lack of building stock being built, will see prices remain inflated to do the imbalance between supply and demand.”

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