- Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at RICS
UK house prices rose at their slowest pace in 18 months in November, the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors said, as measures designed to curb mortgages came into effect. The Bank of England capped mortgage lending on 1 October while the Financial Conduct Authority launched new affordability checks for homeowners to halt rising UK house prices. The checks are also designed to ensure that Britons are able to withstand an increase in rates after obtaining a mortgage.
RICS said its house price indicator dropped to 13, the lowest level since May 2013, down from 20 in October and compared with economists' expectations for a decline to 17. A gauge for London plummeted to minus 40, the least since 2010, from minus 33. However, Chancellor George Osborne's property tax cuts may help boost sales. Britain's housing market has been cooling since the middle of this year, due to tighter mortgage regulation and annual price rises of more than 10% that have far exceeded sluggish wage growth. According to the Office for National Statistics, annual house price inflation was 12.5% in England, 5.8% in Wales, 7.6% in Scotland and 10.9% in Northern Ireland. The average British house price in September 2014 stood at 273,000 pounds compared to 274,000 pounds in August.
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