July sees house price growth

Posted: 02 Aug 2007 11:43:54 GMT

The latest figures show that house prices grew at an increased rate in July.

The latest figures show that house prices grew at an increased rate in July.

The House Price Index from Halifax shows that the average price increased by 0.7 per cent to £198,915, an increase on the 0.4 per cent growth figure from June.

However, the bank says that this increased growth bucks the trend and there is still an underlying pattern of prices easing.

July was the fourth consecutive month of house price growth below one per cent and the growth figure of 1.3 per cent between the end of April and July is the smallest three-monthly rise since August 2006.

"We expect the downward trend in house price growth to continue as the five interest rate rises since last summer have an increasing impact on household spending and housing demand," said Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax.

"Sound economic fundamentals, high levels of employment and a shortage in the number of properties available for sale, particularly in London and the southeast, will, however, continue to support house prices."

It has recently been revealed by the Bank of England that mortgage approvals fell by four per cent in the second quarter of 2007.

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