Bermuda Post

Sunday, May 28, 2023

UK house prices in surprise rise in April, says Nationwide

UK house prices in surprise rise in April, says Nationwide

UK house prices rose by 0.5% in April after seven consecutive months of falls, according to the Nationwide building society.

Economists had been expecting average prices to decrease during the month.

Prices had been falling since August last year, after Liz Truss's mini-budget sparked turmoil on financial markets and drove up borrowing costs.

Nationwide is predicting a "modest recovery" in the housing market as mortgage rates start to come down.

But it said any improvement would be "fairly pedestrian", as household finances remain under pressure and average earnings have been failing to keep pace with inflation.

The cost of an average home rose by 0.5% between March and April to hit £260,441, said the lender, which bases the findings on its mortgage data.

However, that was still 2.7% lower than a year ago.


Conditions in the housing market have "taken a while to settle down" since the mini-budget, the lender said.

In September, former chancellor Kwasi Kwarteng promised billions of pounds of tax cuts without explaining how they would be paid for. It spooked financial markets and drove mortgage rates up to a 14-year high.

Rates are now "well below" those levels, but remain more than twice what they were a year ago, Nationwide said.

However, the number of mortgages being approved is picking up and households feel more confident about their finances, said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist.

"If inflation falls sharply in the second half of the year, as most analysts expect, this would likely further bolster sentiment," Mr Gardener said.

"This, in turn, would also be likely to support a modest recovery in housing market activity."

Rising prices will be a blow to potential first-time buyers, who are already facing rising rents. The continuing rise in many regular bills and food prices is also adding to the financial strain.

However, views among housing market analysts are mixed, with some suggesting that house prices are not guaranteed to rise.

Samuel Mather-Holgate, from advisory firm Mather and Murray Financial, said: "The housing market always sees a boost in the spring, but don't confuse this data with the green shoots of recovery.

"The annual figure is still down, and this is expected to get worse over the next few months, especially if the central bank increases rates again this month."

But Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: "Buyers are finally making their move after months of waiting and stalling. More transactions are definitely needed for the overall strength of the housing market."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Bermuda Post
Close
0:00
0:00
Pfizer, the EU, and disappearing ink - Smoke, Mirrors, and the Billion-Dose Pfizer Vaccine Deal: EU's 'Open Secret
Actor Tom Hanks told Harvard University graduates to be superheroes in their defense of truth and American ideals, and to resist those who twist the truth for their own gain
The Sussexes' Royal Rebound: Could Harry and Meghan Markle Return to the UK?
A provocative study suggests: Left-Wing Extremism and its Unsettling Connection to Psychopathy and Narcissism
France Arrests 10 on Suspicion of Failing to Respond in Time to Migrant Drowning
Neuralink Receives FDA Approval for First-in-Human Clinical Study
Is Saudi Arabia the holiest place in the world? Ancient Hebrew Inscriptions from "The Mount Sinai Stand" Discovered in Saudi Arabia
Ukrainian Intelligence Official Admits to Assassination Attempts on Putin
WATCH THIS: democracy in Russia is so bad!
Ed Davey: It is possible for a woman to have a penis
Bernard Arnault Loses $11.2 Billion in One Day as Investors Fear Slowdown in US Growth Will Reduce Demand for Luxury Products
Russian’s Wagner Group leader: “I am not a chef, I am a butcher. Russia is in danger of a revolution like in 1917.”
TikTok Sues Montana Over Law Banning the App
Ron DeSantis Jumps Into 2024 Presidential Race, Setting Up Showdown With Trump
Steve Jobs introducing Apple's iPhone, exactly 16 years ago.
China overtakes Japan as world's top car exporter
Last Walmart in North Portland Closing Down
Banking Behemoth vs Ex-Boss: The PMorgan-Epstein Entanglement
Florida's DeSantis seeks to disqualify judge in Disney case
Talks between US House Republicans and President Biden's Democratic administration on raising the federal government's $31.4tn debt ceiling have paused
Biden Administration Eyeing High-Profile Visits to China: The Biden Administration is heating things up by looking into setting up a series of top-level visits to Beijing by top officials in the coming months
New evidence in special counsel probe may undercut Trump’s claim documents he took were automatically declassified
A French court of appeals confirmed former President Nicolas Sarkozy's three-year jail term for corruption and influence peddling
Debt Ceiling Crises Have Unleashed Political Chaos
Weibao Wang, a former software engineer at Apple, was charged with stealing trade secrets related to autonomous systems, including self-driving cars
Mobile phone giant Vodafone to cut 11,000 jobs globally over three years as new boss says its performance not good enough
Elon Musk compares George Soros to Magneto, the supervillain from the Marvel Comics series.
Warren Buffett Sells TSMC Shares Over Concerns About Taiwan's Stability
New Study Finds That Secondary Bacterial Pneumonia Is a Major Cause of Death in COVID-19 Patients Who Require Ventilator Assistance
The Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines calls the British monarchy "an absurdity" he wants to remove in his lifetime
Remarkable video from our Fox drone team
The official tapes of Trump's deposition in the E. Jean Carroll battery (rape) and defamation case have been released.
Here is the full video that the media are purposely not sharing
King Charles III being crowned.
New York procedures cover up cold blooded first degree murder of black man by white man
Newly released video of Donald Trump’s rape trial deposition:
Video: Ukraine MP Punches Russian Representative At Global Meet
El Paso mayor has declared a state of emergency
Russia accused Ukraine of attacking the Kremlin with drones in an attempt to kill Putin
Ahead of King Charles’ coronation, British guards rehearse in the middle of the night in London
Dutch court orders man who fathered 550 kids to stop donating sperm
Kim Kardashian Lookalike Christina Ashten Dies Of Cardiac Arrest, Hours After Plastic Surgery
Samsung has banned employees from using generative AI services such as ChatGPT
'Godfather Of AI' Geoffrey Hinton Quits Google To Warn Of The Tech's Dangers
A Real woman
Vermont Man Charged with Stalking After Secretly Tracking Woman with Apple AirTag
Elon Musk Statements About Tesla Autopilot Could Be 'Deepfakes,' Lawyers Claim. Judge Evette Pennypacker Does Not Understand How Far and Advanced This Technology Became
Ukraine More Prepared for Counterattack as Reinforcements Arrive
UK Prime Minister Rishi Sunak and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni Discuss Migration, Defence, and Ukraine
Tucker Carlson is back, soon!
×