UK house prices rise again in January
Thursday, 3 February 2005British house prices rose 0.8% in January, the second monthly rise in a row, the Halifax house price index showed today, although the annual rate of increase slowed to its weakest in three years.
The figures suggested that the slowdown in the British housing market may be moderating and pushed down interest rate futures, indicating slightly increased chances that the Bank of England may push up borrowing costs later this year.
The Halifax, the nation's largest mortgage lender, said the monthly gain in January followed a 1.1% gain in December, leaving house prices up 13.7% in the three months to January on a year ago.
That was the weakest gain since December 2001 and was down from 15.1% although the average price of a British home rose again to a seasonally-adjusted £163,748 sterling in January.
Economists said that taken together with a similar rise in the Nationwide building society's figures, house prices are probably even further above where the Bank of England Monetary Policy Committee judged they would be when making their November forecasts.
While the Halifax said the figures showed the housing market was slowing down, the report also said that sales did not fall for the first time in nine months in January and that estate agents saw the first rise in agreed sales in six months.
Overall activity in the housing market remains weak, however, compared with boom times in recent years, with activity down by about one-third since May when it began to weaken.
