UK House Prices -The next bubble waiting to burst ??
Belize1970 - Fri, 30 Dec 05 :
Nationwide survey shows house prices stabilising
By FT reporters
Published: December 30 2005 09:12
House price inflation edged up by 0.5 per cent in December according to the latest survey from Nationwide, the country’s largest building society, adding to evidence that the market stabilised in the last months of 2005.
But the data released on Friday showed the total annual increase was a modest 3 per cent - the weakest full-year rise in ten years, adding to expectations of an interest rate cut early in the new year.
Nationwide predicted house prices would rise by between 0 and 3 per cent in 2006. “While there is uncertainty about the economy at present we still expect the next move in interest rates will be down and that this is likely early in 2006,” said Fionnuala Earley, Nationwide’s Group Economist.
The mortgage lender said the average cost of a house in Britain was now £157,250.
Commenting on the survey Howard Archer of Global Insight, the consultancy, said the recent overall firming in housing activity could put a floor under house prices, but was “unlikely to lead to sustained sharp rises in house prices any time soon”. He added “If house prices start to accelerate markedly, ... buyer interest will diminish, thereby keeping a lid on prices.”
