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2009-08-05 04:51:43
House prices are now rising, according to the latest survey from the Halifax
mortgage lender.
The cost of the average house went up by 1.1% in July to 159,623.
Prices in the three months to July were 0.8% higher than in the previous three
months, the first increase in the underlying trend since October 2007.
Housebuilder Taylor Wimpey also said it was seeing signs of a turnaround, with
its sales rising in the first six months of the year.
The prices of the properties it had sold had now stopped falling and its order
book had risen by 67% since the end of last year.
"There are signs that the situation is beginning to improve," the company said.
Despite this the firm recorded a half year loss of 682m, mainly due to again
having to reduce the value of its stock of building plots.
Higher demand
The annual rate of house price decline has now shrunk to just 12%, from 15% in
June, moving in a similar direction to that of the Nationwide's rival survey.
"Demand for homes has risen, albeit from a very low base, since the start of
the year, driven by improvements in affordability and low interest rates," said
Martin Ellis, the Halifax's housing economist.
"Higher demand has combined with the low levels of property available for sale
to boost sales activity from exceptionally low levels and support prices over
the past few months," he added.
Last week the Nationwide building society also said prices had risen in July,
with the underlying trend as measured by its own survey moving upwards at the
fastest rate since February 2007.
Despite this apparent turnaround in the UK's dramatic house price slump, both
lenders are being very cautious and both are refusing to predict that prices
will now keep on going up.
Many properties that might have been put up for sale are being let to tenants
instead.
And some homeowners in financial difficulty are only avoiding repossession
because the record low level of interest rates has dramatically reduced the
burden of making their monthly mortgage repayments.
Experts say that if the apparent revival of prices encourages more people to
try to sell their homes, or interest rates rise, then the balance of supply and
demand could tilt, leading to a renewed downturn in prices.
"There is a stark shortage of property on the market and this, above all, is
driving the rebound we are seeing," said David Smith of property consultancy
Carter Jonas.