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U.K. house prices rose by the second-highest monthly rate in 15 years in August, showing the expiration of a key tax break still hasn’t removed the heat from the housing market.
Nationwide reported a 2.1% seasonally adjusted rise in prices in August, to take the year-over-year rate to 11% — an acceleration from the 10.5% growth recorded in July.
The expiration of what’s called the stamp duty holiday, at the end of June, only caused a minor dent in the market that’s been more than compensated by the August gain.
There’s still tax relief in place until the end of September for properties between £125,000 ($172,000) and £250,000 ($344,000), noted Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, who added a lack of supply is another key factor behind August’s price rise.
“Underlying demand is likely to remain solid in the near term. Consumer confidence has rebounded in recent months while borrowing costs remain low,” Gardner said. “This, combined with the lack of supply on the market, suggests continued support for house prices,” he said. If unemployment rises when pandemic programs expire, that could hit demand, but “even this is far from assured,” he added.
The FTSE 100
UKX,
joined other global markets in advancing on Wednesday, with the top U.K. index up 0.8% to 7,174.86. Wednesday marked a rare day of gains for companies that have thrived during the pandemic as well as gains for those that have not.
Exhibitions provider Informa
INF,
was the top FTSE 100 advancer, up 5%, but food delivery group Just Eat Takeaway.com
JET,
and online grocery technology firm Ocado
OCDO,
also advanced.
The mining sector declined, led by a 2% drop for copper miner Antofagasta
ANTO,
