MNI: UK Nationwide House Prices Edge Higher In November

--UK Nationwide Nov house price index 0.1% m/m, 2.5% y/y

     LONDON (MNI) - UK house prices edged higher in November, rising 0.1% on the

month and 2.5% on the year, unchanged from 2.5% in October, the Nationwide House

Price Index showed.

     Annual house price growth in the Nationwide series has held in a 2 to 4%

range since March. The focus now will be on what impact the latest government

change to first-time buyer stamp duty levies will have on the housing market.

     Nationwide's Chief Economist Robert Gardiner said that the cut in Stamp

Duty for property market newcomers should not have much impact on house prices.

     "The decision in the Budget to abolish stamp duty (SDLT) for first time

buyers purchasing a property up to stg300,000 (with relief for those purchasing

a property up to stg500,000) is likely to have only a modest impact on overall

demand. In many regions, first time buyers already paid little or no stamp duty

as the price of the typical first time buyer property was below the previous

threshold of stg125,000," he said.

     Despite a mixed economic message, Gardner said a lack of supply would

continue to underpin the market.

     "Low mortgage rates and healthy rates of employment growth are providing

support for demand, but this is being partly offset by pressure on household

incomes, which appears to be weighing on confidence. The lack of homes on the

market is providing support to house prices," he said.  

--MNI London Bureau; tel: +44 203-586-2225; email: les.commons@marketnews.com

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