House prices in the month of June increased by more than £1500, Halifax has reported, but homeowners have been warned the stagnation still lies ahead.
On average house prices rose more than 1% in June according to date from the Halifax index. The average property is now worth £162,417, up 0.5% on a year ago. However, while Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said there had been ‘a marked improvement’ in house prices over the past 12 months, it cautioned that property values were unlikely to rise this year and sales would not pick up from their low level.
Halifax’s chief economist Martin Ellis said: ‘Continuing low levels of mortgage payments relative to income and recent increases in employment may have helped support house prices so far this year.
We expect little change in prices and sales over the remainder of the year provided that the UK's economic outlook does not deteriorate significantly.’
On the up: House prices rose by 1 per cent in June, according to Halifax, but reports elsewhere show a North South gap with most regions suffering falls while London and commuter-belt homes post rises.
