United Kingdom - Real Estate

[kennynah]

BoE chief, King, got grilled by a Select Committee on Tues, being accused of not supporting the Treasury's Dept's direction of adopting policies of not lending to SME businesses. King denied this accusation.

[winston]

House prices suffer biggest drop in three years

House prices in recession-affected Britain slid in July on an annual basis by the biggest amount in nearly three years, a survey by major home-loans provider Nationwide showed on Wednesday.

The average value of a home in Britain stood at £164,389 ($257,743; 209,051 euros) in July -- down 2.6 percent compared with the same month in 2011, the lender said in a statement.

They meanwhile dropped by 0.7 percent in July compared with one month earlier, it added.

"UK house prices declined for the fourth time in five months in July, with prices falling by 0.7 percent. This pushed the annual pace of price growth down to minus 2.6 percent, from minus 1.5 percent in June -- the weakest outturn since August 2009," said Nationwide chief economist Robert Gardner.

"The weaker price trend observed in recent quarters is unsurprising, given the disappointing performance of the wider economy. Data released last week revealed that the UK recession intensified in the three months to July."


Source: AFP European Edition

[kennynah]

next gdp figure will be rosier...simply bcos of the olympics

suburban 2-bedrooms apartments located about 10 km from city centre were renting for gbp1000/week during this period

[winston]

UK House Prices Fall For First Time In Three Months: Halifax

House prices in the United Kingdom decreased in July, after rising in the previous two months, as hosing market activity has been dragged by the economic downturn, data from Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division showed Monday.

http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?Id=1940044

[winston]

UK House Prices To See Further Downward Pressure: Hometrack

House prices in the United Kingdom is expected to face further squeeze during the rest of the year, as supply continues to outstrip demand, a survey by Hometrack showed Monday.

http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?Id=1954183

[winston]

British house prices rebound unexpectedly

British house prices surged in August to record their biggest monthly rebound in more than two and a half years, despite the ongoing recession, a survey by home-loans provider Nationwide showed Friday.

Prices rallied by 1.3 percent in August from July, which reversed declines witnessed over the previous two months and was the biggest monthly increase since January 2010.

The average value of a home in Britain stood at 164,729 pounds in August, according to Nationwide. That was however a drop of 0.7 percent compared with the same month last year.

"Given the difficult economic backdrop, the extent of the rebound in August is a little surprising,'' said Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, AFP reports.

"However, we should never read too much into one month's data, especially since monthly price changes have been impacted by a number of one-off factors this year, such as the ending of the stamp duty holiday for first time buyers.''

He added that the future of the housing market will be strongly affected by what happens in the labour market.

"House prices are expected to remain fairly stable over the next two years, while incomes are likely to continue to rise gradually, which will also help to support affordability.''


Source: The Standard HK

[winston]

U.K. House Prices Fall For Second Month: Halifax

(RTTNews) - U.K. house prices declined for the second straight month in August and continue to tread water, Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division said Thursday.

House prices were down 0.4 percent from a month ago, when it fell 0.7 percent.

The two successive decreases largely canceled out the increases recorded in May and June. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent rise for August.

Prices in the three months to August were 0.9 percent lower than in the same period a year earlier. This measure of the annual rate has been between 0 percent and -1 percent throughout the last six months, it said.

At GBP 160,256, house prices nationally were at a very similar level to three years' ago.

According to the assessment of Halifax, a gradual upward trend in spending power, supported by lower inflation, will possibly support housing demand in the coming months.

However, house prices are likely to remain flat over the remainder of 2012 and into next year, said Martin Ellis, housing economist.

In an attempt to rebuild the economy, the U.K. government is set to relax the planning rules for building extensions on houses and business premises as part of a new package to be unveiled today.

The government is likely to announce support to 16,500 first-time buyers by expanding the FirstBuy scheme.

Meanwhile, the Bank of England is widely expected to maintain its quantitative easing programme at the current GBP 375 billion and the Bank Rate unchanged at 0.50 percent. The announcement is due today at 7.00 am ET.

http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?Id=1960353

[winston]

On CNBC:-

UK House Prices fall at slower pace - RICS

Prices holding steady for 2 years.

More Supply, Vulnerable to Commodities Market and Sterling Devaluation.

[winston]

London mansion for sale for record £300 mn

A mansion overlooking London's Hyde Park, that belonged to late Lebanese prime minister Rafiq Hariri, is on sale for a British record £300 million ($484 million, 372 million euros), a report said Thursday.

If it meets its asking price the seven-storey, 45-bedroom home would more than double the previous British house price record of £140 million, the Financial Times said.

The 60,000-square-foot property includes a large swimming pool, underground parking and several lifts, and is thought to have had its windows bullet-proofed by Hariri, who owned the house until he was assassinated in Beirut in 2005.

It was then given to Hariri's business associate Sultan bin Abdulaziz, crown prince of Saudi Arabia, the report said. Abdulaziz died in October.

"It is a truly rarefied property on the market and whoever buys it is going to pay a lot of premium for the unusual size in that location," London-based property consultant Charles McDowell was quoted as saying.

The market in high-end London property has defied the recession in Britain, with prices up 49 percent since the spring of 2009, estate agents Knight Frank said this month.

The previous record for residential property was set by a penthouse also overlooking Hyde Park, which fetched £140 million in 2010.


Source: AFP European Edition

[winston]

UK House Prices Fall For Third Month

(RTTNews) - House prices in the U.K. declined for a third consecutive month in September and is expected to remain broadly stable over the rest of the year and into 2013, a survey by Lloyds Banking Group's Halifax division showed Thursday.

The house price index declined unexpectedly by 0.4 percent in September from a month ago. This was the third consecutive monthly fall.

http://www.rttnews.com/Story.aspx?Id=1977375