New figures show that British house prices rose for the second month running in June, leaving them less than 10% down on a year ago, in another sign the market may be stabilising. Mortgage lender Nationwide said house prices rose 0.9 per cent this month, taking the annual rate of decline to 9.3% - the smallest fall since July 2008 - from 11.3 per cent in May. Prices in the three months to June were 0.9% higher on the previous three months, the first positive reading since December 2007, with the average house price now standing at £156,442. “House prices have risen in three of the last four months, suggesting that the improvement that began to show up in March represents more than just statistical noise,” said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist. He added that if the pattern of price movements seen in the first half of this year is repeated over the next six months, then prices could show only a small single digit fall for 2009 as a whole. “This represents a stark shift from trends seen at the turn of the year, when most indicators were pointing to a repeat of the large declines in 2008,” he said. However, Nationwide remained cautious, saying that a low supply in housing coming onto the market is supporting the stabilisation in prices for. This is probably a result of potential sellers and builders holding on to their properties waiting for an upturn but Nationwide said that would have to change. |
