House prices surge again

New figures from the Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) show that annual house price inflation stood at its highest level for over two years in June despite the industry preparing itself for a third rate rise of the year.

Prices rose by 1.6 per cent over the month as a whole – up from May's 0.4 per cent increase – while the annualised growth rate rose from 10.8 per cent to 12.1 per cent.

The average house price now stands at £221,370 in England, the study added, though observers remained cautious about the findings.

"There is no denying that the DCLG house price data are markedly stronger than expected, and suggest that the housing market is proving resilient to higher interest rates," commented Howard Archer of Global Insight.

"However, it must be borne in mind that the DCLG tends to provide lagging evidence on house prices, as the office calculates its index at the time when mortgages are completed," Mr Archer added.

House price data from Halifax showed that price growth also increased in July, though Nationwide and Hometrack have reported a slowdown in growth over the same period.


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