Published on : Fri, 04 Nov 2005 16:52GMT
by : Sadat Sayeed

LONDON: House prices remained unchanged in October, according to Halifax. The survey by the country's largest mortgage lender, however, said the annual rate of increase in the prices got to a five-month high at 3.9 per cent from 3 per cent a month ago. This is an indication of the stability that has come to the property market, the agency said.

Halifax said better employment and a general feeling of well being after the August cut in interest rates have contributed to bringing in this stability in the property market.
Halifax's chief economist Martin Ellis said the overall pattern of price movements over the past few months shows that the market has strengthened compared with earlier months in the year. But, the static price level indicates that there is no scope for any sharp increase in property values, he added.

Contrary to Halifax's findings, Nationwide building society had earlier reported a 1.3 per cent rise in prices in October.

Halifax's lender’s survey, along with other housing market data, is taken as a guide to predict consumer sentiment. On an annual basis, house prices went up 3.9 per cent, against 18.5 per cent recorded in October 2004. The average price of a home is 168,210 pounds, said the survey.

Data released by the Bank of England earlier this week indicated that the number of loans approved for house purchase rose to their highest level in more than a year in September.