UK House Prices Top £260,000 for the First-Time Ever on Shortage of Homes for Sale

Source: Nationwide

A shortage of homes for sale last month pushed house price growth surging by 12.6% for the seventh straight month. FTSE 100 up +0.67%, GBP USD down -0.05%

• Prices of the average home rose by 1.7% in February to over £260,000 for the first time, accelerating the rate of growth from 11.2% in January.
• The intense competition between lenders for mortgage businesses have driven the offers for fixed-rate mortgages lower in recent months, another factor driving prices higher.
• The increase in prices pushed the average British house price to £260,230, after surging nearly £30,000 over the last 12 months.
• Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist stated that housing market activity had remained robust in recent months, with mortgage approvals continuing to run higher than pre-pandemic levels.
• Housing affordability has become stretched as the price of a typical house is almost 6.7 times average earnings, increasing from a ratio of 5.8 in 2019.