Halifax House Price Index August 2019

House price growth continued to rise in August according to the latest data from the Halifax, up 1.8%, year-on-year, against a 2.7% rise a year earlier. On a month-on-month basis, house prices rose just 0.3%, slowing on July’s 0.4% monthly rise.

Halifax’s house price growth continues to diverge from Nationwide’s measure which rose by 0.6% in August, year-on-year.

Source: Halifax HPI, IHS Market

On a quarterly basis, which smooths out distortions, house prices rose just 0.1%, following two consecutive months of negative growth. The average house price edged up to £233,541, improving on the previous month.

Housing market activity remains muted with little or no growth seen in house prices over the last six months. Underlying support will continue from the robust labour market as well as low mortgages rates while recent mortgage approval data from the Bank of England, a lead indicator of future activity, showed a 1.2% rise, year-on-year. Nevertheless, weakness in housing transactions and newly agreed sales along with falling consumer confidence and heightened political and economic uncertainty are all expected to weigh on activity in the near term.

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