House prices up slightly in August, report reveals

Friday, 09 September 2011 11:19

House prices edged up in August, a new study has revealed, contradicting recent reports of a fall over the same period from Halifax and Nationwide.

According to the latest house price index published by LSL Property Services and Acadametrics, property values rose by 0.3 per cent last month to an average of £219,078.

However, this figure represented a fall of 2.2 per cent compared with last year and a drop of 5.5 per cent from a peak of £231,828 recorded in February 2008.

David Newnes, director of LSL Property Services, said the rate of decline of house prices had slowed.

"The housing market across the country is moving in the right direction," he added. "Mortgage finance is very cheap at the moment - it's just hard to get if you don't have a hefty deposit.

"With major lenders like Santander cutting their mortgage rates by one per cent this week, buyers who are able to put up at least a quarter of the value of their purchase can pick up bargains," he added.

The monthly rise contradicts the latest data from Halifax and Nationwide, which showed values dipping in August by 1.2 per cent and 0.6 per cent respectively.

Meanwhile, the latest numbers from surveying specialist eSurv showed mortgage approvals rose from 49,239 in July to 49,566 in August, the biggest annual rise since May 2010.

Buyers with a deposit of up to 15 per cent accounted for more than one in ten of the total approvals last month, a high for 2011 but still short of the 22 per cent seen in the same month three years ago.

Use the Myfinances.co.uk comparison tables to find the best deal on a new mortgage

• Tags:
• house price index
,
• mortgage
,
• news