It looks like UK house price growth is getting its mojo back
Are house prices bouncing back from their Brexit blip? UK house price growth ticked up to 7.2 per cent in December, official figures showed today – the highest annual growth rate since August last year.
The Office for National Statistics' (ONS) UK house price index showed the average price rose to just under £220,000 in December, up 1.1 percentage points from the month before.
The ONS pointed out the rise was weaker than the level of growth experienced in the first half of the year, although it was stronger than any growth rate during 2015.
Growth dipped as low as 6.1 per cent in November and December, as jitters over Brexit began to take hold.
London continued to be the region with the highest prices, with average house prices rising 7.5 per cent, hitting £484,000 for the first time.
However, the East of England experienced the strongest growth, with prices rising 11.3 per cent in the year. That was followed by the South East, where prices rose 8.5 per cent.
On Monday figures from Your Move suggested the average house price in England and Wales hit £300,000 for the first time in January, despite muted growth of just 3.1 per cent.
Meanwhile, Halifax's house price index, published last week, showed prices fell 0.9 per cent between December and January, suggesting the market is losing momentum.
Russell Quirk, chief executive of online estate agent EMoov, said today's figures show strength is returning to the market.
“There has been a number of sceptics where the state of the housing market in 2016 is concerned and although the likes of Halifax and Nationwide provide a snapshot of performance, the fact they are based on mortgage approval data, not cold hard completions, will always leave room for doubt.
"But today’s data from the Land Registry provides a concrete view of how the market performed during a testing year and on the face if it, it held up very well all things considered."
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