View of apartment blocks in London.
Prices of residential properties in the UK increased by 6.2 percent year-on-year in January 2017, lower than the forecasted figure of 6.4 percent, reported the Financial Times, citing data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
ONS also sharply reduced December’s annual price growth from a preliminary estimate of 7.2 percent to 5.7 percent. The revision signifies that home prices rose at a slower pace at the end of 2016, compared to the 6.1 percent gain in the year to November 2016.
On average, prices of residential properties in the UK reached £218,000 in January 2017 versus £205,000 a year ago, but only slightly higher than December’s £217,000.
In particular, London recorded the highest average price of £491,000 during the first month of the year, whereas the North East registered the weakest (£124,000).
Meanwhile, property experts fear that UK home price growth could become more sluggish this year, as household consumer spending could be dragged down by rising inflation.
Furthermore, ratings agency Standard & Poor’s expects prices of residential properties in the country to soften from 7.5 percent last year to just two percent in 2017.
Romesh Navaratnarajah, Senior Editor at PropertyGuru, edited this story. To contact him about this or other stories, email romesh@propertyguru.com.sg
