The stock of homes available for sale fell in October; offsetting the previous month’s modest rise and taking the stock to its lowest ever recorded level.
However, there was more encouraging news regarding the building of new homes. Completions and starts in England in 2016 Quarter 3 were respectively 7% and 9% higher than in 2015 Quarter 3, according to RICS.
House prices in the three months to November were 6.0% higher than in the same three months of 2015, according to the Halifax House Price Index. Prices in the last three months (September to November) were 0.8% higher than in the preceding quarter.
Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said, “House prices in the three months to November were 0.8% higher than in the previous quarter. This increase followed little movement in prices on this quarterly measure in both September and October. The annual rate of growth also increased, rising for the first time for eight months, from 5.2% in October to 6.0%.
“Despite November’s pick-up, the annual rate has been on a steady downward trend in recent months since reaching a peak of 10.0% in March. Heightened affordability pressures, resulting from a sustained period of house price growth in excess of earnings rises, appear to have dampened housing demand, contributing to the slowdown in house price inflation. Very low mortgage rates and an ongoing, and acute, shortage of properties available for sale should help support price levels although annual house price growth may slow over the coming months.”
PHOTO CREDIT: Terry Robinson
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