UK house prices up higher than expected in May

London

BRITISH house prices rose faster than forecast last month, rebounding from a dip in April caused by a new tax on rental property, figures from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Tuesday.

Halifax said house prices rose by 0.6 per cent in May, twice the rate forecast in a Reuters poll of economists and largely reversing April's 0.8 per cent dip. "The strength of demand, combined with very low supply, is causing house prices to rise at a brisk pace," Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said.