LONDON (Reuters) -British house prices grew strongly again in March but there are big questions about whether this can continue later in the year, mortgage lender Halifax said on Thursday.
House prices grew by 1.4% month-on-month in March, the biggest rise in six months, the ninth consecutive month of increases and following a 0.8% rise in February.
Compared with a year ago, house prices were 11.0% higher, Halifax said, slowing slightly from growth of 11.2% in February which had been the highest rate since 2007.
Halifax said the rise reflected too many buyers chasing too few homes coming to the market, but it warned a growing squeeze on household finances might dampen house price growth in the months ahead.
“Buyers are … dealing with the prospect of higher interest rates and a higher cost of living. With affordability metrics already extremely stretched, these factors should lead to a slowdown in house price inflation over the next year,” said Russell Galley, Halifax managing director.
Consumer price inflation hit a 30-year high of 6.2% in February and the government’s budget watchdog two weeks ago forecast it would go close to 9% in late 2022, contributing to the biggest fall in living standards since at least the 1950s.
(Reporting by Andy Bruce; Editing by Kate Holton)
