10.5% rise in annual UK property prices, biggest since June ’07
Nationwide said that the 10.5% rise in average annual prices was the biggest since June 2007. Property values grew by 1% in April to an average of £167,802, bringing them to within 10% of their peak in October 2007.
Nationwide attributed the strong rebound in the past year to low levels of stock on the market and relatively high demand, rather than to high levels of sales. It warned, though, that the upward trend was likely to stabilise over the coming months as more sellers put homes on the market.
‘Given the very strong performance of house prices from May 2009 onwards it will take monthly increases in excess of 1% for the annual rate of inflation to be maintained in double digits,’ explained Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at Nationwide.
The level of the monthly rise, based on seasonally adjusted figures, was partly due to April 2009 being one of the weakest months of last year, Nationwide said. The quarterly rate of growth, regarded as a smoother indicator of house price trends, fell further from 1.5% in March to 1.1% last month.
Separate research published at the end of last week from Rightmove showed that asking prices increased 2.6% in April and are now 6% higher than in the same month in 2009.
* Source Nationwide housing index