U.K. House Prices Rise for a Fifth Month on Dearth of Supply

(Bloomberg) -- U.K. house prices rose for a fifth month in November as a lack of homes for sale kept the market tight.

Prices increased 0.5 percent on the month and growth accelerated to the fastest quarterly pace since January, mortgage lender Halifax said. On an annual basis, price gains slowed to 3.9 percent from 4.5 percent.

The housing market has cooled this year as economic growth lost momentum, though prices have continued to pick up as buyers compete for a limited number of homes for sale. The November advance came even as the Bank of England increased interest rates for the first time in a decade.

“The imbalance between supply and demand continues to support house prices, which doesn't look like changing in the near future,” said Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax Community Bank. “Further ahead, increasing affordability issues as price increases continue to outstrip wage growth are likely to curb housing demand and cause price growth to ease.”

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, Lucy Meakin, David Goodman

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