U.K. House Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in More Than a Year
U.K. House Prices Rise at Fastest Pace in More Than a Year
(Bloomberg) --
U.K. house prices increased at their fastest pace in more than a year this month, according to Nationwide Building Society.
Values rose 0.5% in November from October, the biggest advance since July 2018, the mortgage lender said Thursday. From a year ago, values rose 0.8%, the highest since April, but still registering sub-1% growth for an 12th straight month.
U.K. housing activity has been undermined by Brexit since the 2016 referendum, and the increased uncertainty caused by successive delays to the withdrawal from the EU has hurt the economy and taken a further toll on the market.
The election next month may bring some clarity, although Nationwide cautioned against expecting too much impact on the market from the poll.
“It appears that housing market trends have not traditionally been impacted around the time of general elections,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist. “Rightly or wrongly, for most home buyers, elections are not foremost in their minds while buying or selling their home.”
To contact the reporter on this story: David Goodman in London at dgoodman28@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, Fergal O'Brien
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