House prices have risen by 0.2% in May, just 0.1% more than last month, according to the Nationwide?s latest report. Although a positive figure, it is still down on the 1.1% growth recorded in March, and serves as an indicator that continuing house price growth cannot be taken for granted, according to the mortgage lender. The year on year change slowed slightly, to 4.7% in May from 4.8% lat month, leaving the average price of a house in the UK at £164,632, from £163,573 in April: almost £7,500 more than at this time last year. Fionnuala Earley, group economist at Nationwide, noted the positive talk around continued house price inflation for the future in the report: ?Activity this strong was last seen when house price inflation was in double digits two years ago? estate agents? sales to stock ratios are also high, suggesting the potential for further house price growth, and the revival of the London market has also added to the sentiment that the market is picking up,? she said. However, Ms Earley also said that there are signs that the market is cooling overall: ?Despite all this it is important to keep in mind that not all drivers are supportive of rising house price inflation,? she said. ?Even arch-hawk Mervyn King cautions that continued strong growth should not be taken for granted given the level of house prices relative to incomes.? Kelvin Davidson property economist at Capital Economics added that this new data brings little to alter their predictions: ?We speculate also that an imminent rise in the repro rate will tend to dampen the housing market, but overall today?s data do little to change our view that the general trend will be a cooling in the rate of house price growth over 2006,? he commented.
For more on property, architecture, the arts and the countryside subscribe to Country Life magazine
Contact us about this story
Search all online stories
For what's in the magazine this week see contents
Sign up for our free newsletter
-
Chelsea Flower Show 2025: What else to do in SW3 if you're coming to the world's greatest flower showThere's more to Chelsea than just the Flower Show so we've rounded up some of the best places to eat, stay and shop.
-
Uniquely unique? The Yorkshire grain silos transformed into a home that's a symphony in glass, steel and curvesAmid the beautiful countryside of North Yorkshire, on the edge of the Castle Howard Estate, The Silos is a property for which the word 'house' simply doesn't cut it. And that's not the only way in which it's made us throw out the dictionary.
