UK Housing Market Strongest Since 2007

U.K. house-price growth accelerated in August amid the strongest market conditions for six years as demand continued to outpace the number of homes for sale, Hometrack Ltd. said.

Average values in England and Wales rose 0.4 percent after a 0.3 percent gain in July, the London-based property researcher said in a statement today. Prices were up 1.8 percent from a year earlier, the most since July 2010. In a separate report, the Engineering Employers’ Federation raised its forecasts for U.K. economic growth and manufacturing output.

Hometrack’s survey adds to evidence of a mini-boom in the housing market, with reports last week showing values rising and mortgage approvals at their highest since 2008. Bank of England Governor Mark Carney said he’s alert to risks from the property market and policy makers will act if signs of a bubble emerge.

“A lack of housing for sale is set to remain a feature of the market and this will keep an upward pressure on prices in the near term,” said Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack. “We expect demand to continue to expand over the remainder of the year so long as the outlook for the economy and mortgage rates remains unchanged.”

Underlying market conditions are at levels not seen since the financial crisis, with the average time taken to sell a property falling to 8.1 weeks and sellers achieving 94.6 percent of the price sought last month, Hometrack reported.

New buyers registering with real-estate agents to browse property rose 1.1 percent, the same as in July. Demand fell in August in each of the last three years. Growth in new property listings slowed to 0.8 percent from 2.4 percent.

Bloomberg

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