House prices up 0.4% in December

Posted: 11 Feb 2008 17:02:06 GMT

UK house prices rose by 0.4 per cent in December, it has been revealed.

UK house prices rose by 0.4 per cent in December, it has been revealed.

This means that the cost of the average home is now £219,591, a report by the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) suggests.

However, Howard Archer, the chief UK economist at Global Insight, has noted that the housing market is in fact cooling as the rate of annual price inflation has actually fallen from 9.7 per cent in November to 9.1 per cent in December.

He went on to predict that this trend would continue, although also emphasised that a crash was not on the cards.

"The DCLG tends to provide lagging evidence on house prices, as the office calculates its index at the time when mortgages are completed," he said.

"Nevertheless, the data reinforce the general view that house prices are currently cooling markedly - but not collapsing - in the face of increased affordability pressures and tightening lending practices.

"We expect these factors to continue to bite over the coming months."

According to rival surveys conducted by Halifax and Nationwide, the average house price stands at either £188,623 or £173,325 respectively.


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