UK house prices grew by the smallest amount since September 2012, new data revealed on Wednesday.
Indeed, the Office for National Statistics said on Wednesday that UK average house prices grew by 0.7% over the year to October 2019, amounting to £233,000.
The Office for National Statistics said that, over the past three years, there has been a slowdown in UK house price growth, caused mainly by a slowdown in the south and east of England.
In England, average house prices grew over the year by 0.5% to £249,000. Meanwhile, in Wales they grew by 3.3% to £166,000, in Scotland they were up by 1.4% to £154,000 and in Northern Ireland average house prices saw a growth of 4% to £140,000.
The lowest annual growth was seen in the nation’s capital, where London prices dropped by 1.6% over the period.
“While house prices in London continued to fall over the year, the area remains the most expensive place to purchase a property, at an average of £472,000. The North East continued to have the lowest average house price at £129,000 and is the only English region yet to surpass its peak before the economic downturn,” the Office for National Statistics said.
Elsewhere, the GBP/USD has been able to hold on to recovery above 1.3100.
“We are observing a big reversal in sterling’s post-election gains in response to news that PM Boris Johnson intends to legislate against the possibility of extending the Brexit transition period, which is due to finish at the end of 2020,” Petr Krpata, CFA, Chief EMEA FX and IR Strategist at ING Economic and Financial Analysis, provided an analysis.
“Leaving without a trade deal at the end of next year is much the same as a hard Brexit and that’s clearly negative for sterling,” he continued.
With the general election out of the way, UK politics can turn its attention back to the nation’s departure from the European Union.
Brexit has caused both political and economic uncertainty, particularly to the UK property market.