AI
Friday, November 04, 2005 9:40:21 AM
UK house price recovery continues
House price inflation rose in October, for the third month in a row, according to the latest survey from the Halifax.
The key is to always find the leading markets. Money flows more like a wind than water. While water has a source in a babbling spring the wind is always present. The jet stream current does not stop. It moves across the US and up into the North Atlantic but that wind continues to move across the globe. Money does that too. The economy may be slowing in the next couple years and we need to find where the injection of liquidity will come from. So you walk against the wind to find where the strength is greatest. I followed the money to the UK.
Or at least the start of it. The UK housing market is going to start booming again and with that more debt will be incurred over the next decade by British home owners. If you are into international real estate then the UK is the place to be right now (baring any kind of currency volatility, be warned). REITs that hold investment in the UK might be of interest.
Actual prices were unchanged between September and October, with the average house now costing £168,210.
But compared with a year ago prices have now risen by 3.9%, up from September's rate of 3%.
The Halifax's survey is in line with this week's report from the Nationwide, which also reported that prices are picking up.
Prices for the three months to the end of October were up 2.9% compared with the previous three month period, Halifax said.
Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said the market has been strengthening since earlier in the year.
But he said the property market is not poised for another round of sharply rising house prices.
"This year's slowdown in the pace of UK economic growth and the historically high level of house prices relative to earnings are expected to curb the recent improvement in housing demand and prevent a marked pick-up in prices," he said.
Market picks up
Several other indicators have suggested that the market is coming out of the slowdown that started in the summer of 2004.
Browsers
Lenders see more interest from buyers
Inland Revenue figures show that the number of properties sold rose by 16% between the second and third quarters of 2005.
According to the Bank of England the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, but not yet lent, rose in September to their highest level since June last year.
These mortgage approvals are widely seen as a good indicator of future trends.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has reported that enquiries from buyers went up in September for the fourth month in a row.
House price inflation rose in October, for the third month in a row, according to the latest survey from the Halifax.
The key is to always find the leading markets. Money flows more like a wind than water. While water has a source in a babbling spring the wind is always present. The jet stream current does not stop. It moves across the US and up into the North Atlantic but that wind continues to move across the globe. Money does that too. The economy may be slowing in the next couple years and we need to find where the injection of liquidity will come from. So you walk against the wind to find where the strength is greatest. I followed the money to the UK.
Or at least the start of it. The UK housing market is going to start booming again and with that more debt will be incurred over the next decade by British home owners. If you are into international real estate then the UK is the place to be right now (baring any kind of currency volatility, be warned). REITs that hold investment in the UK might be of interest.
Actual prices were unchanged between September and October, with the average house now costing £168,210.
But compared with a year ago prices have now risen by 3.9%, up from September's rate of 3%.
The Halifax's survey is in line with this week's report from the Nationwide, which also reported that prices are picking up.
Prices for the three months to the end of October were up 2.9% compared with the previous three month period, Halifax said.
Martin Ellis, chief economist at the Halifax, said the market has been strengthening since earlier in the year.
But he said the property market is not poised for another round of sharply rising house prices.
"This year's slowdown in the pace of UK economic growth and the historically high level of house prices relative to earnings are expected to curb the recent improvement in housing demand and prevent a marked pick-up in prices," he said.
Market picks up
Several other indicators have suggested that the market is coming out of the slowdown that started in the summer of 2004.
Browsers
Lenders see more interest from buyers
Inland Revenue figures show that the number of properties sold rose by 16% between the second and third quarters of 2005.
According to the Bank of England the number of mortgages approved for house purchase, but not yet lent, rose in September to their highest level since June last year.
These mortgage approvals are widely seen as a good indicator of future trends.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has reported that enquiries from buyers went up in September for the fourth month in a row.
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