UK house prices rose by 0.9% in June, according to the latest survey from the Nationwide building society.
It said this was the third rise in the past four months, and shrank the annual rate of decline to just 9.3%, from 11.3% in May.
The increase in prices during the past month means the average home now costs £156,442, which is £15,973 less than a year ago.
The Nationwide said the stabilisation of prices was a "welcome surprise".
Since their recent low point in February, of £147,746, average UK house prices as measured by the Nationwide have now risen by £8,696.
"House prices have now 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 the Nationwide's economist Martin Gahbauer.
"What is unusual about the recent trend reversal, however, is that it has taken place against a background of transactions activity that is still very low by historical standards," he added.
'Stark shift'
The Nationwide said the best measure of short-term trends was to compare the average price for the past three months with that for the previous three.
On that basis, prices were now 0.9% higher, the first time they have been on an upward trend since December 2007.
THE GLOBAL RECESSION IS OVER.
THE ONLY THING WHCIH CAN SEND THE WORLD BACK INTO A RECESSION IS IF OBAMA RAISES TAXES - WHICH HE IS SET TO DO WITH CAP & TRADE.
*******UPDATE:MORE EVIDENCE FORM THE USA:
In a faint hint of hope for the country’s struggling housing market, home prices did not fall as fast in April as they did in previous months, according to figures released on Tuesday.THE WORST IS OVER. THE REST IS UP TO OBAMA.
Home prices continued to fall as unemployment rose and tides of new foreclosures hit the market. But the pace of declines, which had been accelerating, leveled off slightly, according to Standard & Poor’s Case-Shiller Home Price Index, a closely watched yardstick of the market.
In April, home prices in 20 major metropolitan areas fell 18.1 percent from a year ago. Although that is a stark drop from April 2008 (when prices were already 15 percent below their April 2007 levels), it is a milder decline compared with this winter, when home prices plunged 19 percent.
“It echoes parts of the larger economy,” said David M. Blizter, index chairman at Standard & Poor’s. “The stock market bottomed in March and started to go up. Consumer sentiment numbers have gotten better as well. There’s a little pickup in the way people view the financial world, and it’s beginning to show up in housing.”
No comments:
Post a Comment