February sees house prices rise by 1.9%

House prices rose by 1.9% in the three months leading to February 2013.

Summary:

• Property costs increased by 1.9% in the quarter to February 2013, according to Halifax
• House prices between February 2012 and February 2013 also rose by 1.9%
• They grew by 0.5% in February 2013 alone

There was a 1.9% increase in house prices in the last quarter, according to the Halifax House Price Index.

Yesterday, the financial services provider released its monthly report on property costs, revealing UK house prices rose by this amount in the three months leading to February 2013 compared with the previous quarter.

They were also 1.9% higher than they were in the same three-month period (December to February) a year ago. This level of increase is significant as it is the biggest rise in property values since September 2010, when they rose by 2.6%.

In February 2013 alone, there was a 0.5% increase in average property prices, taking typical house values to £163,600.

Housing Economist at Halifax Martin Ellis said there was evidence of a property market boost last month, adding: “This increase in both house prices and activity in recent months is consistent with evidence of some improvement in market conditions.”

Mr Ellis predicted further increases in property prices during the remainder of the year; despite this, he noted constraints on housing demand will continue to be weak income growth and below-trend economic growth.

However, he noted: “The more than half a million increase in the number of people in employment over the past year is likely to have been a factor supporting housing demand.”

This is shown in the number of house sales increasing over the last few months, rising from 82,280 in December 2012 to 83,320 in January this year, which was the seventh consecutive month that property sales in the UK have increased.

Last month, Halifax revealed its figures for January, revealing house prices grew by 1.9% over the preceding three months and by 1.3% from January 2012, despite a small decline of 0.2% in January 2013 itself.

Natasha Al-Atassi

I’m a Property Investment writer for Select Property collating the latest industry news about Property Investments in Dubai, the Select Property brand and information to help investors interested in buying property abroad. I am also a freelance journalist and am often published in offline and online media, as well as being a keen wedding blogger. I hope you find my posts useful and please feel free to comment share or tweet.

1 Responses to "February sees house prices rise by 1.9%"

Select Property (@OSelectProperty)

March 7, 2013 at 10:24am

@AskHalifaxBank: House prices rose by 1.9% in the three months leading to February 2013 http://t.co/kNc7Knhwt4 #halifax #ukpropertymarket

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