Insurance News Archive

Nationwide: House prices rise

Written by Michael Brown

For the second time in the last three months, house prices have registered a monthly rise as per the Nationwide house price index.

After seasonal adjustments, the monthly rise for May was registered at 1.2 per cent, making the average cost of a property in the UK stand at £154,016.

Nationwide chief economist Martin Gabhauer said of the results: "Although the short-term trend in house prices has clearly improved from where it was at the beginning of the year, it is still too early to say that the market is turning definitively."

He paralleled the situation with the market decline in the early 1990s, stating that while there were many rises, the housing market would fall back down in subsequent months.

Furthermore, more price declines may follow due to the tight access to credit and rapidly rising unemployment, Mr Gabhauer added.

The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors noted that Nationwide's data reflected their sales-to-stock ration results in recent weeks, which is a historic indicator of turning points in house price inflation.

29 May 2009