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Halifax has reported that house prices in the three months to November were 0.8% higher than in the previous quarter.

This increase followed little movement in prices on this quarterly measure in both September and October. The annual rate of growth also increased, rising for the first time for eight months, from 5.2% in October to 6.0%.

Halifax said the average price of a home is now £218,002.

The pace of annual house price growth slowed in the year to November, down to 4.4 per cent from 4.6 per cent in October, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index.

House prices increased on a monthly basis, however, up 0.1 per cent to an average of £205,947 in November.

Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner says: “There are some signs that, despite the uncertain economic outlook, demand conditions have strengthened a little in recent months, reflecting the impact of solid labour market conditions and historically low borrowing costs.

First-time buyers took their biggest ever share of the mortgage market in October – accounting for a third (32%) of sales.

As detailed in the National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) October Housing Market report, the average number of house hunters per branch rose by a third (32%) from 333 to 440. This was the highest number since February.

Property prices in Scotland increased by 0.6% month on month in September, taking the average price above £170,000 for the first time since the vote to leave the European Union.

It means the average property price increased by more than £1,000 compared to August to £170,762 and on an annual basis prices are up 2.5% since September 2015 when the average was £166,622.

The market is set to enter a period of uncertainty, according to industry experts, in the wake of news that Donald Trump has been elected the 45th President of The United States of America.

The news of Trump’s shock victory was finalised just after 8am UK time when Hillary Clinton conceded defeat to Trump when she trailed behind him with 215 electoral votes to his 286.

Jeremy Leaf, North London estate agent and former RICS residential chairman, said confidence in the UK housing markets will be knocked as the fall-out from Brexit has still not been fully understood.

UK mortgage approvals purchases bounced back in September after hitting a 19-month low in August, new figures show.

According to the Bank of England, there were 62,932 mortgage approvals in September compared to 60,984 the previous month. However this figure was down 9.6% from a year ago.

The Bank’s Money and Credit report showed that mortgage lending rose from £10.4 billion in August to £11.1 billion in September.

The number of approvals for remortgaging was 42,440, compared to the average of 41,882 over the previous six months.

Two-thirds of homebuyers who had problems exposed by their survey used the results to help negotiate a better deal, new research has found.

According to Which? Mortgage Advisers, four in 10 (43%) homebuyers were able to use their survey results to pay less, while a further quarter (24%) used the results to persuade the current owner to fix a problem before they exchanged contracts.

One in 10 homebuyers pulled out of a purchase as a result of the findings from their survey.

The average house price in Scotland has risen over the past year but at almost half the rate of the UK as a whole, according to new figures.

Data released by Registers of Scotland (RoS) found prices north of the border rose by 4.3% over the 12 months to August to £144,561.

The UK average climbed by 8.4% over the same period to £218,964.

Both Scotland and the UK showed a 1.3% increase on the previous month, according to the UK House Price Index.

Mortgage lending for homeownership climbed by 14% on the previous month as banks and building societies advanced £12.2bn of property loans in August.
Market statistics released by the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) placed August’s homeownership lending 11% higher than a year ago. The volume of transactions advanced, followed a similar monthly and yearly upward trajectory. Mortgage lenders advanced 66,000 loans in August, a monthly rise of 13% and a yearly increase of 9%.

Interest-only mortgage borrowers who may not be able to pay back their loan are being warned to take action.

Interest-only mortgage holders are being warned of a ticking-time-bomb, with a quarter (27%) of them potentially unable to pay back their loan, according to OneFamily.

The study from the financial mutual and the Cebr found that the expected average unsettled debt is estimated to be £21,000.

Nearly one in five (18%) mortgage holders admit that they do not understand their loan, while almost a quarter (23%) don’t know what interest rate they are paying.