Published: 01/03/2014
Nationwide building society have reported that house prices have risen 9.4% in the last year.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said:
“House prices recorded their fourteenth successive monthly
increase in February, rising by 0.6%. The price of a typical
home was 9.4% higher than February 2013. Demand
continues to be supported by record low interest rates,
improved credit availability and rising consumer confidence
thanks to the healthy gains in employment recorded in
recent quarters. Price growth is being supported by the fact that the supply of housing remains constrained, with housing completions
still well below their pre-crisis levels, which was already
insufficient to keep up with the pace of household formation.
For example, in England around 109,500 new homes were
built in 2013, this is 38% below the level recorded in 2007
and around half the projected number of households that are
expected to form each year in the years ahead.