UK house prices fall by the most since 2011: ONS

BRITISH house prices fell by the most in more than 12 years in November, dropping by 2.1 per cent compared with the same month in 2022, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said on Wednesday (Jan 17).

In October, prices fell by 1.3 per cent, the ONS said.

London was the region with the biggest annual decrease, with prices in the capital falling 6 per cent, it said.

Other measures of Britain’s housing market have shown signs of stabilisation in recent weeks with some gauges of house prices rising as demand picked up after mortgage rates appeared to have peaked.

But a surprise rise in British inflation on Wednesday pushed back market expectations of when the Bank of England is expected to cut interest rates for the first time after 14 back-to-back increases between late 2021 and August 2023.

The ONS’s gauge of private rents rose by 6.2 per cent in the year to December, the same pace of increase seen in the 12 months to November. REUTERS