The Bank of England's base interest rate is likely to be increased tomorrow, suggests Halifax's monthly update, as house prices rose confidently again in April and there are no signs of a slowdown in the residential property market.
Value of houses rose 1.8% last month, says Halifax, pushing the annualised house price up by almost one-fifth (19.1%) since this time last year, and taking the average price to £154,304. All the indications are house prices will not slow in the short-term, as Martin Ellis, chief economist at Halifax believes household finances are in good shape and the economy looks healthy alongside growing employment. Private sector housing assets are calculated to be 3.2 times the value of total household debt at the end of 2003 compared with 2.7 times five or 10 years ago. At the same time, how...
To continue reading this article...
Join Professional Adviser for free
Signup and gain exclusive members-only insights
- Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
- Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
- Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
- Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
- Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
- Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes
