U.K. House Prices Surged in January as Few Homes Come to Market

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. house prices rose in January as a shortage of properties coming up for sale offset an underlying slowdown in the market.

Values increased 0.6 percent from December, lifting the annual gain at 3.2 percent, Nationwide Building Society said on Thursday. While that’s more than the December rate of 2.6 percent -- and the fastest since March -- it’s still well below the pace of recent years.

The property market has been hurt by slower economic growth and a squeeze on consumers’ incomes since the referendum to leave the European Union in 2016. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said last month that activity remains subdued, and mortgage approvals fell to a three-year low last month.

“The acceleration in annual house price growth is a little surprising,” said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide. “The lack of supply is likely to be the key factor providing support to house prices.”

The average house price in the country rose to 211,756 pounds ($300,000) from 211,156, the report showed.

©2018 Bloomberg L.P.