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UK House Prices Rise For Eighth Straight Month In December: Nationwide

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House prices in the United Kingdom increased for the eighth straight month in December although the pace of increase was moderate, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed on Thursday.

Average house prices climbed 0.4% month-on-month to GBP 162,103 in December roughly in line with expectations for a 0.3% gain. That followed a 0.5% increase in November.

On a yearly basis, house prices rose by 5.9% in December, partly reversing the sharp fall of 15.9% recorded a year ago. Economists were looking for a 5.6% increase. In November, the year-on-year gain was 2.7%. The 3-month-on-3-month rate of change, a smoother indicator of the near term price trend, dropped from 2.8% in November to 2.1% in December.

Despite the sharp price falls seen during 2008, Nationwide said the past decade was the strongest on record for the UK housing market, with prices ballooning 117% in end-2009 from a decade ago. Wales was the strongest performing region in the last decade, while England was the weakest.

Home prices gained 1.6% sequentially in the three months to December period, slowing from the 3.7% growth recorded in the third quarter. Prices were up in all regions except Northern Ireland during the fourth quarter, with London witnessing the strongest growth.

Nationwide said that the resurgent recovery in house prices had surprised most analysts. "Few could have foreseen this development at the start of the year, when the near-term price trend was still pointing to a repeat of the double-digit annual decline experienced in 2008," said Martin Gahbauer, chief economist at Nationwide.

He added that although house prices were still 12.2% lower than their October 2007 peak, they had now rebounded by 8.9% since their February 2009 trough. However, the outlook for the housing market in 2010 remains unclear, he said.

Although interest rates look likely to remain low and generally supportive of the housing market, there is still uncertainty over the labor market and whether cash rich buyers can continue to support housing demand.

"At this stage, it seems unlikely that 2010 will see no significant house price movements in either direction," Gahbauer said. "However, the experience of 2009 demonstrates how unpredictable the market is at the current juncture and that one should always be prepared for the UK housing market to surprise."

House prices in the United Kingdom increased for the eighth straight month in December although the pace of increase was moderate, data from the Nationwide Building Society showed on Thursday. (Market News Provided by RTTNews)

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