Stability has returned to the UK housing market, the latest data from lender Halifax shows, with prices dipping slightly last month. Halifax’s latest house price index, just released, shows average prices were little changed month-on-month in May. The average house price slipped to £288,688 last month, a 0.1% drop compared with £288,862 in April. But on an annual basis, house price inflation rose to +1.5% in May, up from +1.1% in April. Rising wages and a pick-up in economic confidence are supporting house prices, says Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax: "This has been reflected in a broadly stable picture in terms of property price movements, with the average cost of a property little changed over the last three months." Bryden says a period of relative stability in both house prices and interest rates should lift confidence for both buyers and sellers. Last week, Nationwide reported a rise in prices. However, it’s important to remember that both Halifax and Nationwide’s data is based on mortgage transactions, so doesn’t capture cash buyers. House prices rose fastest in the northwest ofEngland – up 3.8% on an annual basis in May, taking the average price to £232,258.In NorthernIreland, prices rose by 3.2%, while in Scotland they were 1.9% higher than a year ago. In Wales, house prices grew annually by 0.7% – below the UK average of 1.5%. Prices fell fastest in easternEngland, where they dropped by 0.8% in the year to May. In London, prices have risen by 0.2% over the last year, to an average of £536,821 – still the most expensive part of the UK. Also coming up … UK entrepreneur Mike Lynch will be celebrating after being cleared of all charges by a US jury in a fraud case related to the sale of his software company Autonomy to Hewlett-Packard (HP) in 2011. And investors are poised for the latest US jobs report, which is expected to show the unemployment rate stuck at 3.9% in May. The agenda • 7am BST: Halifax house price index for May • 7am BST: German industrial output report for May • 10am BST: Third estimate of eurozone GDP for Q1 2024 • 1.30pm BST: US non-farm payroll report for May We’ll be tracking all the main events throughout the day ...
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