LONDON (dpa-AFX) - UK house prices increased at a slower pace in May, figures from the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and IHS Markit showed Friday.
House prices grew only 0.5 percent month-on-month in May after gaining 1.2 percent in April. Nonetheless, this was the second consecutive rise in prices and above the forecast of flat growth.
On a yearly basis, house prices increased 5.2 percent in three months to May compared to the 5 percent growth in three months to April. Economists had forecast the rate to remain steady at 5 percent.
Despite the ongoing political and economic uncertainty, underlying conditions in the broader economy continue to underpin the housing market, particularly the twin factors of high employment and low interest rates, Russell Galley, managing director, Halifax, said.
Galley expects the current trend of stability based on high employment and low interest rates to persist over the coming months, though clearly any downturn in the wider economy would be keenly felt in the housing market.
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