House prices grew by 4% in December when compared to the same month a year prior, new data on Wednesday revealed.
Halifax’s House Price Index also revealed that, on a monthly basis, house prices increased by 1.7%.
Economic uncertainty is expected to “ease” over this year, Halifax’s Managing Director Russell Galley said in the report.
Last year was rather turbulent for the UK, with political and economic uncertainty hitting the nation.
Indeed, with several Brexit extensions granted, an attempt to prorogue parliament and a general election all occurring in one year, it is no wonder Britain’s chaotic political landscape caused concern for the nation’s housing market.
Additionally, Halifax’s data revealed that house prices were 1% higher in the latest quarter from October to December than they were in July to September.
“Average house prices rose by 4% over 2019, at the top of our predicted range of 2% to 4% growth for the year,” Managing Director Russell Galley said.
“This was driven by a monthly gain of 1.7% in December which was the biggest monthly increase of 2019, pushing up the year-on-year growth rate and reflecting that December 2018 was a particularly weak month,” Russell Galley continued.
“Looking ahead, we expect uncertainty in the economy to ease somewhat in 2020, which should see transaction volumes increase and further price growth made possible by an improvement in households’ real incomes.”
Russell Galley added: “Longer-term issues such as the shortage of homes for sale and low levels of house-building will continue to limit supply, while the ongoing challenges faced by prospective buyers in raising deposits will serve to constrain demand. As a result, we expect a modest pace of gains to continue into next year.”
With the general election out of the way, UK politics can now turn its attention to the Brexit deadline approaching at the end of the month.
