News Nov 28, 2015 03:36 AM EST

UK annual house price growth down 3.7 percent in November

By Staff Writer

U.K. annual house price growth slowed down to 3.7 percent in November from 3.9 percent in October, according to Nationwide Building Society.

In a report by Bloomberg, this number is the lowest it has been since five months. The average house price went up 0.1 percent to 196,305 pounds in November, from only a 0.5 percent increase in October. Available properties for sale are also falling, according to the Lender.

In a report by Herald Voice, Nationwide said the annual house price growth can be associated to the earnings growth seen in the longer term. In England, there were 135,000 new houses built in 12 months ending September. This is below the estimated 220,000 new houses built each year for the following ten years.

"The annual rate of house price growth has fluctuated in a fairly narrow range between 3 per cent and 4 per cent over the past six months, which is broadly consistent with earnings growth over the longer term," said Nationwide's Chief Economist Robert Gardner in a report by City AM. "While this bodes well for a sustainable increase in housing market activity in the period ahead, much will depend on whether building activity can keep pace with increasing demand."

However, there is another sign that the house crisis in Britain is getting worse: the dwindling number of available houses for sale. The numbers have dropped to its lowest level since the 70s. The housing problem is pushing the prices up and is making it more difficult for first-time buyers to get a home.

Chancellor George Osborne announced earlier this week strategies to increase housing supply, which includes adding 135,000 new affordable shared ownership houses and releasing public sector land that can have 160,000 homes.

Meanwhile, Nationwide's rival lender Halifax reported a higher property inflation rate, with the slowest rise since August as prices went up 3.2 percent.


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