House prices in the UK are rising twice as fast as gold

House prices are continuing their steady rise, with Nationwide's Monthly House Price Index climbing by 1.1% in August. This means house prices have now increased twice as fast as gold over the past three years. The rate of increase, though, has slowed from the 2%-3% per month seen in the spring and summer of last year. The average house price in the UK is now £129,258, representing an 8.9% rise since the beginning of 2003. Activity levels have also increased, according to the report, with 132,000 property sales completed in July, compared with 103,000 in June. Alex Bannister, grou...