UK house prices beat forecasts in run-up to EU vote: Halifax

[LONDON] British house prices rose more strongly than expected in June although the increase took place before the country voted to leave the European Union, a report from mortgage lender Halifax showed on Thursday.

Prices in the three months to June were 8.4 per cent higher than a year earlier. That was stronger than a median forecast of an increase of 7.7 per cent in a Reuters poll of economists but slower than a 9.2 per cent rise in the three months to May.

In June alone, prices were up 1.3 per cent from May, Halifax said.

"House prices continue to increase, albeit at a slower rate, but this precedes the EU referendum result, therefore it is far too early to determine any impact since," Martin Ellis, Halifax's housing economist, said.

REUTERS