UK November house prices jump by most in nearly 6 years
London
BRITISH house prices rose by the most in nearly six years in November, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Tuesday, as a boom in the housing market accelerates while the broader economy struggles with the novel coronavirus.
In annual terms, prices rose by 6.5 per cent, Nationwide said.
Prices rose by 0.9 per cent from October, a slight acceleration in the monthly growth pace.
A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a slowdown in the pace of increases.
Britain's housing market has bounced back strongly from the Covid-19 shock in recent months, propelled by demand for bigger properties from people who were locked down at home in the spring and finance minister Rishi Sunak's emergency tax cut for buyers that is due to expire in March.
A NEWSLETTER FOR YOU
Property Insights
Get an exclusive analysis of real estate and property news in Singapore and beyond.
Bank of England data on Monday showed that mortgage approvals were at their highest in more than 13 years.
The strength in demand contrasts with weakness in the economy as a whole which is struggling again with fresh novel coronavirus restrictions.
"A relatively narrow cohort of well-off households, who already own their homes with little debt, seem to be driving the market with the savings that they have realised this year from working from home," Samuel Tombs, an economist with Pantheon Macroeconomics, said.
The government might extend the tax break or announce a new mortgage guarantee scheme to prevent house prices from giving back some of 2020's gains next year, he said.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said the outlook remained highly uncertain against the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic.
"However, housing market activity is likely to slow in the coming quarters, perhaps sharply, if the labour market weakens as most analysts expect, especially once the stamp duty holiday expires at the end of March," Mr Gardner said. REUTERS
KEYWORDS IN THIS ARTICLE
BT is now on Telegram!
For daily updates on weekdays and specially selected content for the weekend. Subscribe to t.me/BizTimes
Property
Private home prices up 1.4% in Q1, rents drop by 1.9%: URA
OUE wins tender to lease, develop new ‘zero-energy’ hotel at Changi Airport’s T2
FLASH: Singapore office rents in central region fall 1.7 per cent in Q1 over Q4: URA
Homebuyers shun new real estate in Vancouver, hurting builders
US pending home sales jump in March to hit highest in the year
Blackstone strikes US$1.6 billion student housing deal with KKR