UK Property Prices Rise 0.9% in June

The latest report on property prices, published by the Nationwide Building Society, suggests that UK property values have risen by 0.9% in June. Despite the fact that this is the third successive month that UK property prices have been increasing ever since December 2008, the Nationwide Building Society is determined that sustained stabilization of the UK market is still at risk. Due to the latest increase in property values the annual rate of decline fell to 9.3% from 11.3%. An average price on a UK house has also risen from £154,016 to £156,442. Commenting on the data, Mr. Martin Gahbauer, who takes the post of chief economist at Nationwide, said that the fact UK property values have been constantly rising since March 2009 proves that the improvement is not simply statistical noise. He added that the surprising side of the latest trend lies in the transactions activity, which remains at historical lows. Mr. Gahbauer added that the latest data, released by the Land Registry and the Bank of England, suggests that despite the fact that UK property prices no longer experience steep declines, obstacles in the way of market recovery remain. The stabilization of property prices came as a surprise, which seemed to be impossible in the beginning of the year of 2009, while the demand side of the UK property market is still facing problems. At the same time, the information presented by the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) on Monday, the market has seen stock improvements, while 30% of UK estate agents gained another 10% of properties on their books. Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is determined that although the bottom the market in terms of the pricing cycle has already been reached, future job losses represent a significant obstacle to the recovery of the housing market.