LONDON (AFX) - UK house prices rose a seasonally-adjusted 1.6 pct on the month in February and were up 3.4 pct from a year earlier, according to the latest monthly survey released today by the Halifax PLC.
January house prices rose 0.1 pct on the month, and were up 0.9 pct year-on-year.
The Halifax said the increase in house prices in each of the first two months of 2001 followed a modest fall in prices during the final quarter of last year. Key leading indicators of housing market activity - such as Bank of England figures on the number of mortgage approvals and reports from house builders and estate agents - confirm that housing demand has improved recently.
The outlook for the housing market is positive. The sound UK economic background (with the prospect of unemployment falling below 1 million in the near future), the recent cut in mortgage rates and the likelihood of further rate reductions in the coming months, and affordability levels that are not stretched, should all support demand, the Halifax added. According to the Halifax, the standardised average house price rose to an adjusted 87,109 stg in February from 85,666 stg the previous month.