House prices rise by record £223 per day: Increase in value of homes is biggest since records began more than 30 years ago
- Price of average house rose by £6,940 – or £223 a day – in May, says report
- It is biggest increase in month since records began more than 30 years ago
- Average value of home is now £184,464, according to the Halifax document
- It comes amid growing calls for urgent action to cool the housing market
The price of the average house rose by more than £220 a day in May.
It is the biggest increase in a single month since records began more than 30 years ago – and comes amid growing fears of a property bubble.
A report by the Halifax bank revealed that the average value of a home jumped by £6,940, equal to £223 a day, including weekends.
The figure, which relates to properties in actual cash cost terms, eclipses all previous increases in Britain’s housing boom.
Prices jumped by 3.9 per cent last month, which was the largest monthly rise in percentage terms since October 2002.
The average price is now £184,464, a painful squeeze on finances for anybody saving for a first home or moving up the property ladder – and five times higher than the salary of the average full-time working man.
For many homeowners, particularly those in London and the South, their home ‘earned’ up to four times more than they did last month.
The figures were released amid growing calls for urgent action by the Bank of England to cool the housing market, particularly in the capital, where there are fears of a bubble.
Its financial policy committee meets later this month, and could trigger changes such as new rules about the size of deposits on a property. Matthew Pointon, of the consultancy Capital Economics, said the housing market will be ‘at the top of their agenda’.
Despite speculation of interest rates rising, the Bank yesterday pegged rates at their historic low of 0.5 per cent, at which it has been held since March 2009.
Rates have not remained frozen for so long since the Second World War, when they were held at 2 per cent from October 1939 until November 1951.
Halifax yesterday tried to calm fears about the housing market, pointing out its monthly reports are ‘volatile’ and can yo-yo between big rises and equally large falls.
Brian Murphy, of the Mortgage Advice Bureau, said prices were skewed by London, which he said was on its ‘own unique trajectory’.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics show a typical home in the capital is worth £459,000, nearly a quarter higher than in 2008
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