| UK
House Prices Situation: Strong
UK
House Prices Forecast: Strong growth in south-east for
Q1 & Q2 2007
The
End of Sub-£100k Housing
2007
looks set to mark the last year any towns or cities
in the UK will have an average house price
below £100,000, according to Andy Hagan, Chief
Executive of HBOS (Halifax).
Discussing
prospects for the housing market in 2007, Hagan remarked
that, "For the first time ever we expect there
to be no towns with an average price below £100,000
at the end of 2007."
Hagan
also commented that the "economic fundamentals
underpinning housing will be sound during 2007".
He cited factors such as rising employment, a high divorce
rate, greater longevity and restricted supply as contributing
towards a strong market.
No
Profits for Homeowners in Cumbria
While
property prices in London may have risen more than 12
per cent in 2006, prices in Cumbria have only risen
by an extremely modest average of 0.9 per cent, one
of the lowest figures in the country.
This
modest growth left the average Cumbrian
house price at £127,300 – up from £126,200
at the end of 2005.
Although
there have been pockets of strong growth in the Midlands
and the North of England, similar overall trends have
been observed in both these regions.
Figures
from property website Hometrack revealed that average
growth in the Midlands in 2006 has been just 0.7 per
cent, with average growth the North of England a minimal
0.5 per cent.
House
Price Inflation Ends 2006 at 10.5 per cent
Average
house price inflation for 2006 was 10.5 per
cent, according to figures published by Nationwide Building
Society. Traditionally a quiet month, December delivered
a strong 1.2 per cent average growth to ensure that
house price inflation for the year remained in double
digits.
Fionnuala
Earley, Nationwide's group economist, commented that
there are "few signs that the rate of house price
growth will moderate in the very short term".
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