UK House Prices Rise 1.4% in November

Latest report on UK house prices published by Halifax, one the leading mortgage lenders in the country, property values increased by 1.4% in November, which is more than industry experts expected.
As a result of the latest increase in house prices, the average asking price for a UK house now stands at £167,664, which is more than £13,000 higher than £154,490 registered this April. It is worth noting that average house prices in the past three months were only 1.6% lower than at the same time last year, while the difference in the beginning of the year amounted to as much as 17.7%.
Earlier Halifax predicted that house prices in Great Britain will stay flat in 2010, depending on the overall level of country’s economy, as well as on the number of new properties coming onto the market.
Specialists of the property industry expected UK house prices to grow by not more than 0.5% in November; their forecast was supported by data released earlier by Nationwide, but Halifax’s report was in sharp contrast to it.
In the opinion of Halifax’s housing economist, Martin Ellis, the increase in house prices registered in November was the “5th successive monthly rise”, mainly determined by high demand of borrowers and low activity of sellers. He added that the level of house prices next year will depend on overall recovery of the British economy and supply of marketed properties. In general, Mr. Ellis said, UK house prices are expected to stay flat.
The house prices-earnings ratio, which is considered the most significant measure of house prices sustainability, grew by 0.35% in the past 6 months, from 4.32% in April to 4.68% in November. Surprisingly, the figure is higher than the average of 4%, seen since 1983.
Meanwhile, in the opinion of IHS Global Insight economists, the increases in UK house prices are not likely to be sustainable; property values, according to the forecasting company, house prices might decline by 5% or more next year.