Commercial Property Finance:-:- House prices dropped marginally in July by 0.2 per cent compared with the previous month, according to the Halifax house price index.
This was the second successive month of a fall with June’s figures 0.4 per cent down on the previous month.
However, for the three months leading up to the end of July there was a year-on-year growth of 4.1 per cent bringing the average UK house price to £236,120.
Halifax managing director, Russell Galley, said: “While economic uncertainty continues to weigh on the market, the overall trend actually remains one of comparative stability, with average prices down by less than £600 over the last three months.”
He said although there was a drop off in the number of properties sold in the early summer new buyer enquiries were up and low interest rates and strong wages would underpin prices.
Future prices look hard to predict
Galley added: “In the longer-term, we believe there is unlikely to be a step change in market activity until buyers and sellers see some form of resolution to the current economic uncertainty.”
Government figures showed year-on-year, UK seasonally adjusted residential transactions in June 2019 were approximately 16.5 per cent lower than June 2018.
Mortgage approvals remain steady at just slightly above the 12-month average. Bank of England industry-wide figures show the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchases rose by 793 from May to 66,440 in June.
Commercial Property Finance by HZA
Brokers Hank Zarihs Associates said property development funding was still strong for new residential schemes in areas where there was a housing shortage.
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ residential market survey for June showed sales to stock ratio decreased slightly to 30.9 per cent with agreed sales rising to a positive figure for the first time in 11 months.
Economic forecasting group EY ITEM Club predicts house prices rising by around 2 per cent over 2020 if the UK leaves the European Union with a deal by the end of October. However, if the UK leaves without a deal prices are expected to drop by about 5 per cent.