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| Telford and Shropshire Property News |
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House prices rose by 0.8% during
January as values bounced back after steep falls amid
the pre-Christmas snow disruption, figures have
revealed.
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Mortgage
giant Halifax said the average cost of a home in Britain
rose to £164,173 last month, but this followed a 1.3%
plunge in December as snowed-in buyers stayed away from
the market.
Its
quarter-on-quarter measure of house prices – seen as a
smoother indicator of market trends – registered a drop
of 0.7%, according to the group.
Halifax
said 2011 house prices would be constrained by consumer
caution, with spending cuts and tax hikes hitting
confidence.
But it
noted that fewer sellers coming on to the market would
help support prices by shifting the demand and supply
balance.
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Martin
Ellis, Halifax housing economist, said: “The prospects
for the market in 2011 are closely aligned with the
performance of the wider economy. Consumer confidence
has fallen recently, partly as a result of nervousness
about the economic outlook.
“On a
positive note, there have been further signs that the
recent downward trend in prices is causing homeowners to
be more reluctant to put their properties on the market.
This development should help to relieve downward
pressures on prices as long as it is sustained.”
On an
annual basis, house prices were 2.4% lower in January,
as measured by the average of the latest three months
against a year earlier.
But the
falls are still far from the hefty declines seen in
2008, when the credit crunch saw quarterly drops of 5%
to 6%.
However,
recent lending figures from the Bank of England revealed
the dearth of mortgages being taken out – with 2010 net
mortgage lending falling to its lowest level since
records began in 1987. |
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Article by Shropshire Star
www.shropshirestar.com |
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