Home prices in the UK rose for the second month running in August, in a sign that the market may be stablilising. Home-loans provider Halifax said house prices increased by 0.8% in August. “This was the second successive monthly increase and the fourth in the first eight months of 2009,' Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis said. “Overall, house prices nationally are very similar to the level at the end of last year. “Demand for housing has increased since the start of the year due to better affordability and low interest rates,' he said. “This, together with low levels of property available for sale, has boosted house prices over the last few months,' he added. House prices rose by 1.7 per cent during the three months to the end of August, compared with the previous three-month period, the biggest increase on an underlying basis since July 2007. According to Halifax, the average cost of a British home stood at £160,973 sterling in August, compared to £160,861 in December 2008. Halifax - part of the state-controlled Lloyds Banking Group - added that the prices of homes in August were 10.1% lower compared with the level in the same month of 2008. However, Halifax said that while housing market activity continues to improve, it remains less than half the level in mid 2007. Bank of England industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchase – a leading indicator of completed house sales - increased for the sixth successive month in July, on a seasonally adjusted basis. Approvals were 53% higher than in July 2008, at 50,123, but were 55% lower than in July 2007 (112,446). |
