UK house price growth slows – ONS

Another sign of moderating house price growth in the UK.

The Office for National Statistics says prices rose by 5.8 per cent in the year to February, below forecasts among economists for a rise of 6.1 per cent. That’s a rise from the previous month’s 5.3 per cent ascent, but that in itself represents a heavy downward revision; previously the ONS had estimated January’s figure at 6.2 per cent.

It is also below the average for 2016 of 7.3 per cent.

The broad direction is still clear.

Still, another recent measure of house prices from lender Halifax also disappointed those expecting a rise, while Nationwide has also reveals signs of waning momentum.

Sam Tombs at Pantheon Macroeconomics thinks London prices warrant close scrutiny:

The regional split showed that house prices in London rose by just 3.7% year-over-year in March, well below the 6% average rate recorded in the rest of the country. Revisions show that London also underperformed the rest of the U.K. in January for the first time since August 2009. With valuations stretched, employment prospects in the financial sector clouded by Brexit and uncertainty about the outlook for sterling undermining property’s safe-haven appeal for overseas investors, house price growth in London looks set to remain sub-par throughout 2017.