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The latest Halifax House Price Index has revealed that in the last three months to January, house prices were 7.3% higher than during the same period in 2012.
The new high represents a 1.9% increase in house prices since August to October 2013 – possibly as a result of the impact of the government’s Help to Buy scheme, the second phase of which was launched in October.
Bank of England figures show a “significant” rise in the number of mortgages approved for the same period – a total of 30% more mortgages were approved in the three months up to December compared with the same period in 2012.
The figures suggest that house sales have exceeded one million within a year for the first time since 2007, just before the banking crisis hit in 2008.
Senior housing economist at the Halifax, Martin Ellis, said:
“Demand has increased against a background of low interest rates and higher consumer confidence, underpinned by signs that the economy is recovering and unemployment falling faster than expected.
“Official schemes – such as Help to Buy – also appear to have boosted housing demand.
“However, continuing pressures on household finances as earnings fail to keep pace with consumer price inflation are expected to remain a constraint on the rate of growth of house prices,” he warned.
The Bank of England is due to review the government’s Help to Buy scheme in September. Some critics of the scheme have said it could create a housing bubble and a possible crash, leaving some new homeowners unable to meet mortgage repayments if interest rates soar.
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