House price growth picking up, says Halifax

HOUSE price growth in Britain picked up in August, with the annual rate of growth rising from 3.3pc in July to 3.7pc, according to the latest Halifax house price index.

On a monthly basis, prices rose a more modest 0.1pc, while quarterly prices were up 1.9pc.

The figures contrast with those published by Nationwide last week, which showed house price growth had fallen to a six-year low in August, with annual growth of 2pc, down from 2.5pc in July, and month-on-month growth down by 0.5pc.

Halifax’s house price index is based on homes bought with mortgages, excluding council house sales, shared ownership and help-to-buy schemes, while Nationwide’s is based on owneroccupier house purchase transactions involving a mortgage. Buy-to-let and cash deals are not counted.

Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “While the pace of employment growth has recently slowed, a low unemployment rate and a gradual pickup in wage growth are helping to support household finances.

“This has been accompanied by interest rates still remaining at a historically low rate and a stable, yet constrained, supply of new homes onto the market further supporting house prices.”

Russell Quirk, chief executive of online estate agent Emoov, said it looks like “stability is returning” to the property market and that we should see market activity “pick up significantly from now until Christmas, bringing prices with it”.

Jeremy Leaf, a north London estate agent, said this well-established snapshot of housing market performance from the country’s largest lender was “sending a mixed message”.

“Prices are rising more slowly on a monthly basis but accelerating when annualised. What we are finding on the ground is a market largely stuck in neutral – shortage of stock is supporting modest price increases, particularly outside London.”

The UK housing market has slowed since the EU referendum in 2016, and many economists last year predicted growth would flatline in 2018.

However, growth has remained within the 2-3pc range for the past 12 months.