Halifax: May house prices up by 5%

UK house prices grew at their fastest rate for two years in May with an increase of 5.2% year on year, according to new data released by Halifax. The value of the average UK home rose by 0.5% from April to £237,837 last month, and by 2.5% over the past three months compared with the quarter before, the House Price Index revealed. Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said the overall housing market was stable, and the lender expects stability to continue as employment remains high and interests are low. However, experts cautioned that Halifax’s index had been an “outlier” in recent months and that other house price measures have consistently pointed to a slowdown, particularly in London and the southeast of England.

The Times (07/06/2019)   Daily Mail (07/06/2019)