United Kingdom annualized CPI beats estimates with 0.7% in Sept, GBP/USD keeps gains
- par Xavier Trudeau
- dans Financer
- — Nov 18, 2020
The average United Kingdom property sold in September, the latest month available, went for an all-time high of £245,000 ($326,000), according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
"The rate of inflation increased slightly as clothing prices grew, returning to their normal seasonal pattern after the disruption this year", said Office for National Statistics deputy statistician Jonathan Athow. London's prices also hit a new record high at nearly twice the national average and three times average prices in north-east England, with the average transaction in the capital netting sellers £496,000.
The ONS index is based on completed transactions.
"Notably, many existing homeowners were spurred on to move by the combination of needing more space and the temporary Stamp Duty changes. This may allow sellers to request higher prices as buyers' overall costs are reduced".
This was mainly due to energy regulator Ofgem's latest six month energy price cap, which came into effect on 1 October, the ONS said.
There are also signs that demand for bigger homes has grown. Price growth in October was flat month-to-month.
"The gradual increases in consumer prices could be temporarily cut short next month, as England's second national lockdown in November restricts activity and demand for things like fuel", says Hannah Audino, economist at PwC.
Figures published on Wednesday confirm prices have broken official records, bearing out what lenders, property websites and estate agents have reported in recent months.
The lowest annual growth was in the North East, where average prices increased by 3.3% over the year to September.
"As a result, and perhaps unsurprisingly, the increase in house prices was led by detached and semi-detached properties". On a month-on-month basis, consumer prices rose by 0.0%.
Mark Manning, managing director of Leeds-based estate agent Manning Stainton, said: "September was an exceptional month for the housing market, with sales and asking prices massively up on the same period past year".
The Bank of Canada has said it expects interest rates to remain at current record lows into 2023.
Jeremy Leaf, former RICS residential chairman, said: "This most comprehensive of all the housing market surveys, though a little dated, underlines what we were seeing at the tail end of the aftermath of the first lockdown mini-boom".
"Since then, activity cooled and was replaced by a more cautious approach before the prospect of a COVID-19 vaccine reinvigorated the market".
