This article is an external press release originally published on the Landlord News website, which has now been migrated to the Just Landlords blog.
Nationwide has found that house prices are rising at the fastest rate since 2010.
The UK’s biggest building society also revealed that since the beginning of the year, property prices have grown by 4%, and they are increasing by £1,000 a month.1
These figures demonstrate confidence in the market, and a recovering economic climate. A cause of this may be that first time buyers are purchasing homes easier, due to Government schemes and cheaper mortgages.
Property Market on the Up
The start of the year saw an average house price of £162,262. It is now £168,941; a monthly rise of 0.3%.1
Head of Lending at the Mortgage Advice Bureau, Brian Murphy, says: “Homeowners will be delighted to see a third month of house prices increases in Nationwide’s figures while potential buyers will be comforted by the fact that mortgage rates are still heading in the opposite direction. This golden age of rate reductions is coaxing more borrowers through the door.”1
Jonathan Hopper, Managing Director at Garringtons, also says: “There is without doubt more momentum in the property market and this latest data is further proof of that. Consumer confidence is crucial to the property market and people certainly feel a lot more confident about the economy at the moment.”1
Despite this, these statistics are averages, and Nationwide have also claimed that they have seen massive regional differences. The variations in house prices between London and the rest of the UK are the widest they have ever been.1
Property prices in London are up by 5% since autumn 2007, however, the rest of the UK has seen prices drop by 9% in the same period.1
Northern Ireland has seen a tremendous decline, with house prices at a shocking 52% lower than they were in 2007.1
Robert Gardener, Chief Economist at Nationwide, comments: “There are a few signs that the supply of housing is improving significantly. Indeed, construction data points to further decline in building activity.
“For example, in the first quarter of 2013, housing completions in England were down 8% compared with the same period of 2012, and around 40% below the average number of quarterly completions in 2007.”1
This research is just one example that reveals strength in the housing market.
