House prices on the rise
Published: 30 July 2009 By MoneyhighStreet Staff 1 Comment
The latest report on house prices from the Nationwide Building Society shows a rise of 1.3% in July.
The 3 month rate of change also rose from 1% in June to 2.6% in July, the highest level since February 2007.
There is some cautious optimism that house prices could end 2009 slightly higher than they were at the start.
As Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide’s Chief Economist, comments ‘Only a few months ago, such an outcome would have appeared unthinkable.’
The average house price according the Nationwide now stands at £158,871, compared with £156,442 in June.
Gahbauer commented though that it’s unlikley ‘that price increases can be sustained for long at the very strong rate observed over the last few months’.
He put this down to issues resulting from house price levels rising out of line with such as earnings and rents, coupled with the impact of high unemployment affecting buyer confidence and raising financial pressure on owners to sell.
I would imagine that a part of the recent increase in house prices may have more to do with the increased demand for housing we see each year with the improvement in the weather and possible with buyers feeling that house prices may have reached a “bottom” or they are happy with the “discount” they can enjoy now compared to prices at the peak.