Yesterday’s Halifax house price figures for January were in stark contrast to the Nationwide survey.
Nationwide claimed growth of 1.2%, and said that over the year, house prices were up 8.6%.
But Halifax said house prices rose 0.6% last month, and were up 3.6% in the last 12 months.
Both sets of annual figures were out of sync with the Land Registry, which says that annual house price inflation has been far lower.
Catherine Penman, head of research at Carter Jonas, said: “It is impossible to state with any form of certainty exactly what is happening to prices at the national level. There is simply no clarity around pricing.
“The house price landscape varies from isolated hotspots of activity where prices are proving strong to areas where they still seem to be in decline. It is a curious market and a clouded one. The price of a property is defined by its location and quality, not what is happening in the broader market.”
Halifax said that despite January’s rises, it predicted flat price growth this year.
%20-%20IMAGE%20Client%20Accounting%20%E2%80%93%20what%20are%20your%20options.jpg)
%20A%20property%20tale%20for%20our%20times.png)
Comments
i agree with AGENCYINSIDER and Anna Key.
I hadn't realised they were still around !
National house price statistics are totally meaningless. They are a life raft for greedy vendors seeking to jusify inflated asking prices for their properties. In my area South East I hvae good examples of year on year increases in values of 16% but this is in contrast to very precipitous and greater falls in late 2008. I gather values hvae gone the other way up North. So results depend on what sectors the the Nationwide and halifax are lending in and where they are doing it.
Couldn't agree more Agency Insider. I call for all providers of useless statistics to be regulated immediately!
It would be a lot healthier all round if these monthly stats from lenders etc were given far less attention. All they do is feed the unhealthy national obsession with property values and give a distorting generalised view of what in reality are local micro markets.