Construction Loans News:- UK house prices rose by 1.2 per cent in the year to May 2019, down from 1.5 per cent in the year to April, reveal Office of National Statistics, ONS, data.
House prices rose by just 0.1 per cent in May compared with April’s increase of 0.7 per cent bringing the average UK property price to £229,431.
The South West showed the greatest monthly increase of 1.2 per cent, while the North West experienced the biggest annual rise of 3.4 per cent.
London saw the greatest monthly fall of 2.5 per cent and also the biggest annual drop of 4.4 per cent bringing the average house price to £457,471. Detached properties showed the biggest fall in value of 6.1 per cent taking the average price to £847,998, while flats and maisonettes dropped by 5 per cent to an average value of £399,012.
Wales showed average house prices fall of 1.4 per cent since April 2019, although on an annual basis values had risen by 3 per cent taking the average property value to £159,428. Semi-detached properties showed the greatest increase in value of 3.9 per cent taking the average price for this type of property to £154,847.
Property transactions slump
The number of transactions on residential properties with a value of £40,000 or more was 89,810 – 11.3 per cent lower compared with a year ago. Between April 2019 and May 2019, transactions decreased by 6.4 per cent.
Construction Loans by HZA
Brokers Hank Zarihs Associates said while May’s growth was more restrained than April’s the data was still in positive territory. The brokerage said development finance lenders continued to be keen to give competitive construction loans and fast bridging loans to house builders.
The ONS consumer price inflation index for June has settled at 2 per cent from a four-month high of 2.1 per cent in April. It’s expected the Bank of England will keep interest rates at 0.75 per cent throughout the rest of 2019 and into 2020. Although if the UK leaves Europe without a deal economists anticipate a possible further interest rate cut.