Halifax indicate drop in house prices ahead of Government White Paper
7th February 2017Halifax has reported that the average house price fell by £2000 on average in January. The dip is the first since summer 2016.
With the average house price now being 5.74 times average wage, considerably more than the previous norm of 4.19 times salaries, something needs to be done to allow for affordability.
The Halifax says “the monthly decline of 0.9 per cent on the Halifax House Price Index followed four successive months of rises since August and put the cost of the average home at £220,260.”
However the monthly reports are difficult to judge as the overall outlook for housing is said to be a rise in the next 50 years, according to Professor David Miles, a former member of the Bank of England’s monetary policy committee.
He says, “House prices are set to soar over the next 50 years, while the average income won’t keep pace, putting home ownership out of reach of millions.”
Miles goes on to explain that the shortage of housing and a restriction on the availability of land in the UK will mean house prices keep spiralling upwards for decades to come.
The Housing White Paper will set out what the government intends to do and we will wait with anticipation to see the outcomes in the next 12 months to five years, and in the much longer term.