U.K. House Prices Fell for Ninth Month in March on Supply, Hometrack Says
March 31 (Bloomberg) -- Hometrack Ltd. director of research Richard Donnell discusses U.K. house prices. He talks with Francine Lacqua on Bloomberg Television's "On The Move." (Source: Bloomberg)
U.K. house prices fell for a ninth month in March as growth in the supply of homes for sale outpaced demand, Hometrack Ltd. said.
The average cost of a home slipped 0.1 percent from February to 153,100 pounds ($245,771), the London-based property researcher said in an e-mailed report today. The supply of properties on the market rose 5.2 percent. In London, prices increased 0.2 percent, the first gain in eight months.
“The key question is whether the market will continue to see increased demand for housing against the wider economic and fiscal backdrop,” Hometrack director of research Richard Donnell said in the report. “We expect headline prices to continue to track lower over the coming months as supply rises and demand remains subdued.”
U.K. consumer confidence stayed close to the lowest since March 2009 this month, according to GfK NOP Ltd., after inflation accelerated and the economic recovery faltered. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne in his budget last week lowered the income-tax bill for most Britons to lessen the squeeze on living standards, while the Bank of England kept its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 0.5 percent on March 10.
From a year earlier, house prices fell 3.2 percent in March, Hometrack said. The number of buyers registering with agents rose 4.2 percent after a 14.7 percent surge in February. In London, demand for homes jumped 25 percent over the last two months, helping to lift prices.
Other data has provided a mixed picture of the housing market. Mortgage approvals rose to 46,967 in February, the highest level since November, according to a Bank of England report this week. That’s about half the average level recorded over the last decade. Rightmove Plc said this month that U.K. home sellers raised asking prices for a third month in March as a shortage of properties for sale helped support values.
To contact the reporter on this story Svenja O’Donnell in London at sodonnell@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Craig Stirling at cstirling1@bloomberg.net
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