House Price Growth Increases in First Month of New Year
UK housing market experts predicted house price growth coming into the New Year would be quite slow at about 1% for the year. This trend had been forecasted in December by seeing the yearly slow down which occurred during the month and the soft purchasing season during the holidays. The housing market is typically quiet in December and 2017 proved that once again. But January house price growth, according to Nationwide, increased month on month by 0.6%.
Some specialists feel the lack of new houses for sale within the market is the reason for property prices increasing in January. The average price of a home across the country is now £211,756.
House price growth and remortgage are independent of each other and a range of factors affect each one differently. Remortgage activity remained strong in the month of December, although the standard base rate was increased in November. A similar amount of activity is expected when final figures for the month of January are released.
Remortgage is also expected to remain strong throughout the year. What was once considered rarely as a means to control expenses and even save money each month, remortgage has become a much relied upon tool to cut outgoings each month in one quick motion. House owners are finding deals with low interest rates and affordable administration fees from lenders of all sizes and types.
Robert Gardner of Nationwide commented on the latest economic figures regarding the housing market, saying: “The acceleration in annual house price growth is a little surprising, given signs of softening in the household sector in recent months. Retail sales were relatively soft over the Christmas period, as were key measures of consumer confidence, as the squeeze on household incomes continued to take its toll.”