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UK House Asking Prices Dip In May-June

The Associated Press

LONDON (AP) — Average asking prices for houses in the United Kingdom fell 0.4 percent during the five weeks to June 13, but were still up compared with January after a four-month run of increases, property Web site Rightmove said Monday.

The average asking price, which measures sellers' hopes rather than actual selling prices, was 6 percent higher than at the start of 2009, Rightmove said.

That figure echoes other recent signs of recovery — or at least stabilization — in the housing market.

Halifax, the nation's biggest mortgage lender, has reported that house prices jumped 2.6 percent in May, the biggest gain in more than two years. The Nationwide Building Society, the country's third-largest mortgage lender, pegged the rise at 1.2 percent in May, leaving prices 11.3 percent below year-ago levels.

The Bank of England says that mortgage loans for house purchases rose in May, from 4.2 billion pounds ($6.9 billion) in April to 4.3 billion pounds.

Miles Shipside, commercial director of Rightmove, was cautious about the significance of recent reports.

"While conditions are much improved on the darkest days of last year, we are now starting to see some big distortions and wild swings due to the combined effects of recession and restricted mortgage availability," Shipside said.

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On the Net: http://www.rightmove.co.uk/house-price-index.html