The house prices in the UK have grown by 3.3 per cent annually, according to the latest House Price Index released by Halifax. The average price of a house in the UK is now estimated at £220,706 as per May month data.
Compared to March-April-May 2016, prices have gone up for the corresponding period in 2017, but on a sequential basis, the growth has remained stable.
“The fact that the supply of new homes and existing properties available for sale remains low, combined with historically low mortgage rates and a high employment rate, is likely to support house price levels over the coming months,” said Martin Ellis, Halifax housing economist, in a statement.
The annual change numbers are the quarterly non- seasonally adjusted year-on-year figures. They are calculated as an average of the monthly year-on-year percentage changes over the latest three months. These figures provide a better picture of underlying trends compared to a monthly year-on-year number as they smooth out any short-term fluctuations.
The Index noted a rise in private sector housebuilding in the UK with new build completions being 12 per cent higher in the January-March quarter (Quarter 1) in 2017 than in the previous quarter. In contrast, completions by housing associations were 5 per cent lower. All completions are 57 per cent above the trough in 2013 Quarter 1, Halifax observed.
The Halifax House Price Index is the UK's longest running monthly house price series with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983.
