House prices still on the up

House prices continued to rise in November, despite predictions that the market boom that began last summer would cool off over winter following the end of the stamp duty holiday. Nationwide’s latest house price index revealed that prices rose 0.9% last month with annual growth creeping back into double figures. The 10% year-on-year increase marked an acceleration from October, the first month that wasn’t boosted by the stamp duty holiday, when month-on-month growth was 0.7% and the annual rate grew 9.9%. The average price of a home in Britain now stands at £252,687, according to Nationwide. Prices have risen by more than £33,000, or 15%, since the pandemic started last March. There have already been more housing transactions this year than in 2020 with a month still to go and activity levels are close to those seen in 2007 before the global financial crisis rocked the property market. However, Nationwide's chief economist, Robert Gardner, warned there could be trouble ahead for the market, citing the Omicron variant and falling consumer confidence. Rising interest rates may also exert a "cooling influence", he said. 

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