House Price Rises Still In Double Figures

House Price Rises Still In Double Figures.

The latest house price index released by Nationwide Building Society has confirmed for the second month in a row that house price rises in the UK are still above 10%.

For the year to May 2014, the average house price in the UK was £186,512, up 11.1% on 2013 from £168,028. This follows the trend for April 2014 which saw house price rises of 10.6%.

Many commentators still predicting at or around double digit rises for both 2014 and 2015.

Comment

House prices overall are now higher than they were at their peak in 2007. We know this is fuelled by the confidence in the economy as well as low interest rates and the Help to Buy scheme.

Many predict a property bubble, but we suggest that there may now be a slowdown in price rises.

The new MMR Mortgage Market Review is placing much greater responsibility on lenders and mortgage brokers to ensure affordability of mortgages, nit just today but also in stress tested times i.e. can you afford to pay your mortgage if interest rates rose 3-4%?

Expect a property price increase slowdown but not to stall.