British house price inflation is picking up gently from a very low level, according to two new reports today. The UK government said British house price inflation rose to 2.5% in the year to November from a nine-year low of 1.8% the month before.
That left the average house price at £186,431 sterling in November compared with £185,398 in October, according to the Office of the Deputy Prime Minister.
The ODPM said the property inflation rate in London rose to 2.2% after falling 0.5% in the year to October - the first such fall in more than nine years.
While these data tend to lag more more current reports from mortgage lenders, they support growing evidence that the UK property market has achieved a soft landing and is beginning to firm following a quarter point interest rate cut last August.
A separate report from property web site Rightmove said average asking prices on a British home edged up 0.1% in the time from early December to early January after a sharp decline in the prior period.
Rightmove said the slight rise recorded in its December 4 to January 7 survey was helped by first-time buyers keen to get a foothold on the property ladder.
The slight 0.1% monthly rise followed a 0.8% decline in the previous period and took the annual rate of increase to 3.6% from 3.4% in the previous survey. The average asking price for a home on this measure is now £196,319.
But Rightmove said asking prices on smaller properties had risen by around 1% over the month, helped by strong demand from first-time homebuyers. The gain was driven by a rebound in London and the South East of England after a slowdown over the last year.
