House prices up 11% in a year
HOUSE prices have surged by double-digit percentages for the fifth month in a row to reach a record high of £189,000, according to new figures.
The rise exceeded predictions and challenged experts’ warnings that the market is starting to cool.
Nationwide Building Society’s own figures show that house prices soared by 11 per cent year-on-year in August, compared with 10.6 per cent in July. Prices were also up by 0.8 per cent over the past month, pushing the average UK property price to £189,306, up from £188,959 in July.
Separate figures from the Land Registry showed prices rose by 1.7 per cent in July.
Estate agent Foxtons warned this week that the UK’s booming housing market was slowing down.
But Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said the outlook for the market ‘remains highly uncertain’.