LONDON (MNI) – UK house prices edged higher in October, rising 0.2% on the month and 2.5% on the year, up from a revised 2.3% in September, the Nationwide House Price Index showed.
Annual house price growth in the Nationwide series has held in a 2 to 4% range since March. The focus now will be on what impact the expected Bank of England rate hike this week will have on the housing market.
Housing market activity has held fairly steady. BOE data showed mortgage approval growth dipped to 66,232 in September, which was close to the recent average.
Nationwide’s Chief Economist Robert Gardiner said that a 25 basis point Bank Rate hike on Thursday should not have much impact on house prices.
“The proportion of borrowers directly impacted by a rate rise will be smaller than in the past, in part because the vast majority of new mortgages in recent years were extended on fixed interest rates. The share of outstanding mortgages on variable rates (and which are therefore likely to see an increase in payments if the Bank Rate is increased) has fallen to a record low of around 40%, down from a peak of around 70% in 2001,” he said.
By David Robinson
WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 1, 2017 – 03:17
–MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2223; email: [email protected]
–MNI London Bureau; +44 203-586-2226; email: [email protected]
Source: MNI