LONDON (Reuters) – British house price growth accelerated in January, marking the strongest start to any year since 2005, mortgage lender Nationwide said on Tuesday.
House prices jumped by 0.8% in January, following a 1.1% increase in December. A Reuters poll of economists had pointed to a 0.6% increase last month.
House prices stood 11.2% higher than their level in January 2021, the fastest annual growth since June and again outstripping the consensus forecast for a rise of 10.8%.
Nationwide said demand for housing had remained robust at the start of the year, even after the expiry of temporary tax breaks on property purchases during the pandemic.
“Reduced affordability is likely to exert a dampening impact on market activity and house price growth, especially since household finances are also coming under pressure from sharp increases in the cost of living,” said Robert Garnder, Nationwide chief economist.
Consumer price inflation hit an almost 30-year high of 5.4% in December and looks set to peak at around 6% in April, according to the Bank of England which is due to publish mortgage lending data at 0930 GMT on Tuesday.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Kate Holton and Michael Holden)
