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NEWS HOUSE PRICES


House price increase reported for March leaves most economists cold


NATALIE THOMAS


A 2.2% increase in house prices in March has been downplayed by economists. The latest Halifax house price index shows values rose 2.2% in March, following a monthly fall of 0.4% in February and a drop of 0.1% in the three months leading up to March. The average price of £163,803 in


March was almost identical to that in July 2011 – £163,765. Prices in the first three months


of 2012 were 0.6% lower than in the same period last year. Martin Ellis, housing econo mist


at Halifax, says first-time buyers trying to beat the end of the Stamp Duty holiday have probably boosted


sales in recent months and may have helped support prices. He says: “We continue to expect little movement in prices this year provided the economy does not suffer a pronounced weakening.” Halifax’s March in -


MARTIN ELLIS FTBS HELPED HOUSE PRICES


crease is in stark con - trast to Nationwide’s index which shows prices fell by 1% in the month to reach £163,327. The two indices


calculate their figures differently, with Hali -


fax looking at the whole calendar month and Nationwide cutting its data off earlier in the month.


Ed Stansfield, chief property economist at Capital Economics, says the rise in March simply reverses the dip seen since last July. He says: “We would not be in -


clined to read much into the latest rise in the Halifax index or the divergence with Nationwide. The jump in the Halifax index simply offsets the falls recorded in the previous six months or so. “The month-by-month volatility


of both indices illustrate the prob - lems of accurately measuring house prices.” He believes any further correc - tion in prices is likely to proceed along a slow and potentially bumpy path.


www.mortgagestrategy.co.uk BUY-TO-LET


Skipton launches host of fixes as it


hikes LTV for B2L Skipton Building Society has in - creased its maximum LTV for buy- to-let to 75%, up from 70%. In conjunction with the increase it has launched a range of two, three and five-year fixed rate buy-to-let products. It is offering a two-year fixed rate up to 70% LTV at 4.69% with an appli cation fee of £245 and completion fee of £750. It is also offering a two-year fixed


rate up to 75% LTV at 5.09%, with an application fee of £245 and com - pletion fee of £1,250. Included in the range is a three-


year fix up to 70% LTV at 4.59% with an application fee of £245 and com - pletion fee of £750, and a three-year fix up to 75% LTV at 5.39%, with a £245 application fee and £1,250 com - pletion fee.


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MORTGAGE STRATEGY April 9, 2012


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