The latest house price data from the Halifax has brought positive news for those people looking for an increase in property values.
According to the UK’s largest mortgage lender, house prices rose by 0.5% in February and are up by 1.9% compared to this time last year.
The figures show that average price of a home is now £163,600.
Commenting on the figures Martin Ellis, Housing Economist at the Halifax, said: “The housing market continued to provide evidence of improvement in February. Prices in the three months to February were 1.9% higher than in the previous three months. This was the third successive increase in this measure of the underlying trend. Prices were also 1.9% higher than in the same period a year ago.”
Ellis continued: “House sales also continue on a modest upward trend. This increase in both house prices and activity in recent months is consistent with evidence of some improvement in market conditions. The more than half a million increase in the number of people in employment over the past year is likely to have been a factor supporting housing demand.
House prices in 2013
Looking forward to the rest of 2013 many housing experts seem to be more positive than they perhaps were towards the end of last year. The increase in optimism could, in part, be down to the Funding for Lending Scheme, which has pushed interest rates on mortgages to all-time lows and also unemployment, which continues to fall.
Martin Ellis again: “We expect to see a national increase in house prices over the course of 2013. Weak income growth and continuing below-trend economic growth, however, are likely to remain significant constraints on housing demand.”
Despite this constraint on demand figures from HMRC show that activity in the housing market remains steady with 82,000 houses sold in both December and January.
