U.K. House Prices Round Off Weak Quarter With December Rebound

(Bloomberg) -- The U.K. housing market rebounded in December at the end of a weak fourth quarter.

Prices rose 1.3 percent in the three months through December compared with a year earlier, up from 0.3 percent in November, Halifax said Tuesday. The monthly change, which can be volatile, was a 2.2 percent gain to an average 229,729 pounds ($293,000), beating forecasts for a 0.5 percent increase.

After a three-decade boom, British home prices are getting hit from uncertainty over Brexit and years of tepid wage growth. Nevertheless, the shortage of homes and low interest rates are supporting the market and preventing a sharper downturn.

Prices fell 0.4 percent in the fourth quarter from the third quarter, Halifax said. The mortgage lender expects growth between 2 percent and 4 percent in 2019.

“This is slightly stronger than 2018, but still fairly subdued by modern comparison,” said Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax. “However, this expectation will clearly be dependent on the Brexit outcome, with risks to both sides of our forecast.”

To contact the reporter on this story: Brian Swint in London at bswint@bloomberg.net

To contact the editors responsible for this story: Paul Gordon at pgordon6@bloomberg.net, David Goodman, Lucy Meakin

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