Property prices have increased by 0.3% across the country in July and are now 2.9% higher than twelve months ago, new Nationwide figures revealed.
And whilst the latest yearly house price growth rate has dropped slightly from June’s 3.1%, it still remains incredibly close to the 3-6% it has been travelling in between for the last 24 months.
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The latest figures from Nationwide show that the market is stable and Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, expects the market to remain so for at least the short term.
Whilst some might think the recently recorded low levels of housing transactions and mortgage approvals would mean the market is cooling down, the low number of properties available counteracts this theory.
Estate agents are now recording levels of property that are close to a 30 year low, and whilst maybe fewer investors are interested, there also isn’t enough available.
Although Robert Gardner points out that the UK’s property market needs to be seen as a part of the country’s wider economy, e also argues that “constrained supply is likely to continue to provide support for house prices and, as a result, we continue to expect prices to rise by around 2% over 2017 as a whole, only modestly lower than the levels recorded in recent months.”
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These recent developments can overall be seen as a sign of confidence in the market as other factors need to be kept in mind. For example, we’re currently in the middle of the traditionally slow summer months, meaning some of the moderate reactions from buyers could just be connected to the current season.
Overall, the country’s property market appears to be one of the few pockets that remained stable throughout a tumultuous year. And it doesn’t seem like anything is about to change any time soon.
