June sees another increase in house prices

According to figures recently released by the High Street lender, Nationwide, property prices in the UK have seen a further increase in value in the month of June. The increase was only a nominal one of just 0.1 percent, but has taken the average property price in the UK to more than £170,000.

The Nationwide house price index indicates that property prices in the UK have increased by around 3 percent since the beginning of the year, which is good news for those that have seen their property price tumble over the past few years as a result of the global financial crisis and the recession, both of which impacted on the property market. 

The bad news for homeowners is that the rate of the annual house price increase experienced a fall, dropping to 8.7 percent which was actually lower than the figure for the same period last year. One official from the Nationwide Building Society said that one of the reasons for the slowdown could be the increased level of properties that were up for sale.

There has been an increase in properties going up for sale as a result of homeowners hoping to sell their properties whilst prices are on the up rather than sitting back and then seeing them fall again, which is something that is concerning some homeowners. The abolition of the HIPs or Home Information Packs by the coalition government is also thought to have played a part in the increased number of properties going up for sale.

A spokesperson for the Nationwide said: “Recent indicators point to an increase in the supply of property coming to the market for sale, perhaps in response to the abolition of Hips (Home Information Packs) in the opening days of the new coalition government. With the level of demand remaining broadly stable, this would in part help to explain the recent slowdown observed in the rate of house price inflation.”