UK February Halifax house prices +0.5% vs +0.3% m/m prior

• Prior +0.3%
• House prices +10.8% y/y
• Prior +9.7%

UK house prices rise at the fastest annual pace since 2007 with a new record high set for the average house price again at £278,123. The market continues to run hot though some moderation is expected later in the year. Halifax notes that:

“Looking ahead, as Covid moves into an endemic phase and almost all domestic restrictions are removed, geopolitical events expose the UK to new sources of uncertainty. The war in Ukraine is a human tragedy, but is also likely to have effects on confidence, trade and global supply chains.

“Surging oil and gas prices are one immediate consequence, meaning that inflation Inflation Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Inflation is defined as a quantitative measure of the rate in which the average price level of goods and services in an economy or country increases over a period of time. It is the rise in the general level of prices where a given currency effectively buys less than it did in prior periods.In terms of assessing the strength or currencies, and by extension foreign exchange, inflation or measures of it are extremely influential. Inflation stems from the overall creation of money. This money is m Read this Term in the UK – already at a 30-year peak – will remain higher for longer. This will add to the squeeze on already stretched household incomes. While increases in Bank Rate look likely in the near term, the extent of the rises will depend on how it affects prices and companies’ approaches to pay over the months to come.

“These factors are likely to weigh on buyer demand as the year progresses, with market activity likely to return to more normal levels and an easing of house price growth to be expected.”