UK house price growth slows in last quarter of 2014.
The Guardian reports that according to the Nationwide Building Society UK house price growth slowed sharply in the last 3 months of 2014, this cooling off of prices was most apparent in 3 regions of the UK..the north west..Yorkshire and Humberside..and Wales where it was recorded that there were outright price declines in the final quater of 2014. On a better note, generally house prices ended the year 8.3% higher than 2013, this price increase may well be exagerated by the fact that London was particularly strong, house prices in the capital are approx 35% above their former 2007 peak.
Furthermore “Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said: “All regions except the north of England saw a slowing in annual price growth in the final quarter of 2014. London was the top performing region for the second year running. Yorkshire and Humberside was the weakest performing English region, with prices up 1.5% over the year”
Where do we go from here in 2015? what will we be reporting on house prices this time next year? The stamp duty changes announced by Chancellor George Osborne which will involve 98% of house buyers paying less tax may only have a limited impact on the slowdown in house price growth, stricter mortgage rules will definately have an effect in reducing the number of mortgage approvals. The up and coming election will more than likely create an air of uncertainty and buyers may hold back from committing to their purchase till after the election, it may not be all over by then as we may face the possibility of another coalition, that will be very interesting! Most are however positive about the fact that we will see further gains in prices in 2015, I go along with that but may not be as much as some people are expecting.
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