House prices rose for the second month running in June, leaving them less than 10 percent down on a year ago, the Nationwide building society said on Tuesday, in another sign the market may be stabilising. Skip related content
The figures followed a survey by GfK/NOP which showed consumer confidence hitting its highest level in 14 months in June as Britons became more optimistic about their finances.
The data added to the view Britain may be one of the first major economies to pull out of recession and helped lift sterling to its highest level of the year on a trade-weighted index.
"An upbeat UK house price report gave sterling a lift this morning," said Nick Kounis, an economist at Fortis. "This adds to evidence suggesting the housing market is turning."
The Nationwide building society said house prices rose 0.9 percent this month, taking the annual rate of decline to 9.3 percent -- the smallest fall since July 2008 -- from 11.3 percent in May.
And prices in the three months to June were 0.9 percent higher on the previous three months, the first positive reading since December 2007, with the average house price now standing at 156,442 pounds.
"House prices have risen in three of the last four months, suggesting that the improvement that began to show up in March represents more than just statistical noise," said Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide's chief economist.
Nevertheless, policymakers are still being circumspect and not declaring victory yet over Britain's first recession since the early 1990s -- figures due at 0830 GMT are expected to show the economy shrank 2.1 percent in the first three months of 2009.
Nationwide also remained cautious, pointing out the stabilisation in prices had come despite very low house purchase activity as there had been a corresponding drop in the stock of property for sale.
The latter is probably a result of potential sellers and builders holding on to their properties waiting for an upturn but Nationwide said that would have to change.
"Abnormally low supply levels are unlikely to last forever, as the recent price increases should make previously hesitant sellers feel more confident about marketing their properties," Gahbauer said.
"Additional supply is also likely to come from homeowners who see their financial position impacted by higher unemployment and lower incomes."
Credit constraints also remain a problem curbing buying. Mortgage lending in May rose by its lowest amount on record, just 324 million pounds, a tenth of the increase a year ago, according to Bank of England data.
And while mortgage approvals have ticked higher, they remain well below the level consistent with a sustainable recovery.
"The stabilisation of house prices is a welcome surprise that did not seem likely at the beginning of the year," said Gahbauer.
"However, there are still considerable headwinds facing the demand side and until we see a more robust recovery in house purchase activity, it is too early to be confident about a full-scale recovery of prices."
(Additional reporting by Christina Fincher; editing by Chris Pizzey)
