UK House Prices Rise But Political Uncertainty to Weigh Going Forward

U.K. house prices increased by 12.1 percent in the year to September 2014 but property agents warn that political developments in the U.K. are denting growth at the higher end of the market.

According to the Office of National Statistics (ONS) house price index for September, U.K. house prices increased by 12.1 percent in the year to September 2014, up from 11.7 percent in the year to August 2014 and the highest annual increase since July 2007, when prices increased by 12.3 percent.

House prices continue to increase strongly across the U.K., with prices in London again showing the highest growth: an annual increase of 18.8 percent in September.

Despite the continuing increases in property prices, particularly in London, prominent real estate agents in the U.K. say that upcoming political events and proposals could dent the housing market’s meteoric rise.

The forthcoming general election in May 2015 and the prospect of a controversial tax on homes worth more than £2 million ($3.2 million) – proposed by the opposition Labour party in the U.K. — were having a “moderating” effect on the prime London residential housing market, U.K. estate agent Savills said on Tuesday.

via CNBC

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Alfonso Esparza

Alfonso Esparza

Senior Currency Analyst at Market Pulse
Alfonso Esparza specializes in macro forex strategies for North American and major currency pairs. Upon joining OANDA in 2007, Alfonso Esparza established the MarketPulseFX blog and he has since written extensively about central banks and global economic and political trends. Alfonso has also worked as a professional currency trader focused on North America and emerging markets. He has been published by The MarketWatch, Reuters, the Wall Street Journal and The Globe and Mail, and he also appears regularly as a guest commentator on networks including Bloomberg and BNN. He holds a finance degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education (ITESM) and an MBA with a specialization on financial engineering and marketing from the University of Toronto.
Alfonso Esparza