House prices rise for 7th consecutive month
House prices rose for the seventh month in a row during November.
Tuesday, 01, Dec 2009 10:18
By Alex Steger.
House prices rose for the seventh month in a row during November, according to the latest house price index.
The cost of a home rose 0.5 per cent making the average property price £162,764, according to Nationwide.
This figure was last seen in August 2008 but the building society warns there are signs that the pace of recovery is starting to slow.
The 0.5 per cent growth seen during November was the same as that seen during the previous month of October, but is the smallest rise in prices since they stopped falling in April.
The housing market recovered quicker than first expected in 2009 with the low number of houses on the market meaning prices have gone up. Experts though predict 2010 will see a fall in house prices as more homes are put up for sale.
Nationwide's chief executive Graham Beale said: "Much of the increase in prices this year has been caused by an unusually low level of properties available for sale rather than a robust recovery in house purchase transactions."
The figures come a day after the Bank of England announced that the number of loans approved for buying houses were at their highest level since March 2008, having increased for the 11th month in a row during October to 57,345.
Nationwide added that the housing market remained "crucially dependent" on labour market conditions.
Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist, said: "Despite continued uncertainties about the future, the better than expected performance of the labour market has probably contributed to the surprise rebound in house prices this year."