Nationwide House Price Index shows strong finish to the decade – industry comment
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“As with most areas of life, the UK property market was always likely to demonstrate a slight festive lethargy on a month to month basis in December and while we didn’t quite finish the year with a bang, the first annual increase above one percent in as long as a year is certainly something to toast to.
It’s been a rough ride of late and while we’re unlikely to see any immediate New Year’s resolutions where the rate of house price growth is concerned, there are still plenty of positives to take into a new decade.
Although London has seen the rate of growth decline dramatically of late, it remains the pinnacle of UK homeownership where the value of property is concerned, as demonstrated by the much longer timeframe in which to accumulate a mortgage deposit. However, the cost of borrowing also remains at very favourable levels enabling more of us to secure a realistic financial foot on the ladder.
By and large, we finish the decade in a similar position to where we started. House prices are increasing on a consistent basis almost across the board, the same regions hold the titles for most and least expensive, and homeownership remains an aspiration that drives the majority of us forward in life.”