Key
facts
- House prices in the first
quarter of 2015 (January-March) were 2.6% higher than in the final
quarter of 2014 (October-December). The quarterly rate of change
increased for the third consecutive month. It is now at a similar rate
to September 2014 (2.7%) prior to a marked slowdown in the last three
months of 2014.
- Prices in the three months
to March were 8.1% higher than in the same three months a year earlier.
This continued the steady decline from 8.5% in January and is
significantly below the peak of 10.2% in July 2014.
- House prices increased by
0.4% between February and March, offsetting February’s 0.4% fall.
- Home sales increased in
February 2015. Home sales rose for the second successive
month in February with a 2.5% increase compared with January. Signs of a
recent modest pick-up follow a steady decline during most of 2014 with
sales in February still 8% lower than in February 2014. (Source:
HMRC, seasonally-adjusted figures)
- Mortgage approvals
continue to increase. The volume of mortgage approvals for house
purchases – a leading indicator of completed house sales – rose for the
third consecutive month in February. As a result, approvals during the
three months to February were 2% higher than in the preceding three
months. This recent improvement follows five successive monthly falls in
approvals between July and November 2014. (Source: Bank of England,
seasonally-adjusted figures)
- Supply remains tight. New instructions fell
again in February suggesting that the trend remains down following
January’s modest rise, which was the first increase in six months.
Overall, the supply of homes on the market remains low. (Source:
Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ (RICS) monthly report)
- House price optimism
rebounded in February as inflation continued to fall and the expectation
of an interest rate rise receded further, according to the Halifax
Housing Market Confidence Tracker. This optimism is reflected in the outlook
for both buyers and sellers, with buying sentiment up to its highest
level since the Confidence Tracker launched in 2011 at net +35*. At the
same time, selling sentiment reached an all-time high and now stands at
+27 http://www.lloydsbankinggroup.com/Media/Press-Releases/2015/halifax/halifax-house-price-index-march-2015/
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