Year-on-year house price growth hit 9.7 per cent in the three months to October, according Halifax’s house price index – its highest since August 2014.
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Samuel Tombs, housing economist at Pantheon Marco, said, “The latest year-over-year growth rates of the Nationwide and Land Registry measures are less punchy (than Halifax’s) at 3.9 per cent in October and 5.3 per cent in September respectively”.
Furthermore, house prices in the three months to October were 2.8% higher than in the previous three months of 2015 and 9.7% higher than in the three months to October 2014, again beating a 9.5% forecast, and after an 8.6% rise in the previous report.
That means the average price for a house is now £205,240 in the United Kingdom, up 1.1 per cent from September and 2.8 per cent on the three months to July, beating expectations.
In a further indication that property values will continue to increase in the coming months, consumer confidence that house prices will keep on marching upwards is high.
‘Improving economic conditions and household finances, together with sustained low mortgage rates, have boosted housing demand during 2015. Strengthening demand is filtering through in to higher sales levels although the ongoing shortage of supply is acting as a significant constraint on activity, ‘ said Ellis.
He suggested the imbalance between supply and demand was likely to persist over the coming months, which would maintain upward pressure on house prices. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, he established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends.
United Kingdom property investment has generated nearly 10% capital growth in the past 12 months.
Halifax pointed towards figures from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors highlighting the record low levels of supply.
It comes as supply remains at a record low, with the number of homes on the market declining for the eight successive month in the most recent estimates of September.
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Housing commentator Howard Archer added that a rise in interest rates, expected in late 2016, was unlikely to have a major dampening impact on the housing market as the Bank of England has stressed the increases will be gradual and limited. “Those looking forward to welcoming in the new year in a new home might be struggling to achieve this unless they are prepared to pay for it”.
