British house prices rose in January at their slowest pace since the summer of last year, gaining only 0.3 per cent on December in the first indication that soaring inflation and higher interest rates are rattling the booming property market.
The annual rate of growth remained steady at 9.7 per cent, with the average home hitting a record high of £276,759 at the start of 2022, the latest Halifax House Price Index showed.
“House price growth slowed somewhat at the start of the year, rising by just 0.3 per cent in January, the smallest monthly increase since June 2021,” said Russel Galley, managing director of UK building society Halifax.
“This followed four consecutive months of gains above 1 per cent. Overall prices remain around £24,500 up on this time last year, and £37,500 higher than two years ago.”
Britain's property market enjoyed a robust year in 2021, boosted by the stamp duty holiday, a desire for more space as city dwellers looked for bigger homes during the work-from-home trend and limited supply.
The slowing growth in January reflects the wider challenges facing the economy such as the cost-of-living crisis that is set to grip UK households from April caused by soaring energy bills and higher taxation.
Last week, the Bank of England raised interest rates for the second time in two months – albeit to a level still below that at the start of the pandemic – as it sought to head off inflation running at a 30-year high of 5.4 per cent in December, with expectations it will hit 7.25 per cent in April.
Affordability was still at historically low levels as house price rises outstripped earnings growth and younger buyers faced challenging deposit requirements, Mr Galley said.
"Despite record levels of first-time buyers stepping on to the ladder last year, younger generations still face significant barriers to home ownership as deposit requirements remain challenging,” he said.
"This situation is expected to become more acute in the short-term as household budgets face even greater pressure from an increase in the cost of living and rises in interest rates begin to feed through to mortgage rates.”
Anthony Codling, chief executive of property platform twindig, said deposits will be key to the level of house price inflation this year.
“Those with a big deposit will be able to rise above the living and mortgage cost rises, those without will not and unfortunately, the deposit-poor will also find it harder to save as living costs rise,” he said.
Wales started 2022 as the strongest performing part of the UK for annual house price growth, at 13.9 per cent, while Northern Ireland continued to record strong price growth, with prices up by 10.2 per cent compared to a year earlier.
Growth remained strong in Scotland with an 8.9 per cent annual increase, Halifax said.
London remained the weakest performing area of the UK but the capital continued its recent upward trend with annual house price inflation rising for the third straight month to stand at 4.5 per cent.
Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said January's slowdown may be a sign of things to come.
"This year won't see a boost to prices from the stamp duty holiday which ran through much of 2021," he said.
"To the extent the tax holiday brought forward purchases, its after-effects may drag on housing market activity in the near term."
Mr Beck said he expected the Bank of England to increase interest rates twice more this year, which in turn will push up mortgage rates to add more strain to household finances.
“The rising cost of living faced by households from higher inflation and tax rises means it's likely that fewer people will be able to afford to borrow the necessary amount they need to buy at higher mortgage rates,” he said.
The story of Edge
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, established Edge in 2019.
It brought together 25 state-owned and independent companies specialising in weapons systems, cyber protection and electronic warfare.
Edge has an annual revenue of $5 billion and employs more than 12,000 people.
Some of the companies include Nimr, a maker of armoured vehicles, Caracal, which manufactures guns and ammunitions company, Lahab
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Recipe
Garlicky shrimp in olive oil
Gambas Al Ajillo
Preparation time: 5 to 10 minutes
Cooking time: 5 minutes
Serves 4
Ingredients
180ml extra virgin olive oil; 4 to 5 large cloves of garlic, minced or pureed (or 3 to 4 garlic scapes, roughly chopped); 1 or 2 small hot red chillies, dried (or ¼ teaspoon dried red chilli flakes); 400g raw prawns, deveined, heads removed and tails left intact; a generous splash of sweet chilli vinegar; sea salt flakes for seasoning; a small handful of fresh flat-leaf parsley, roughly chopped
Method
▶ Heat the oil in a terracotta dish or frying pan. Once the oil is sizzling hot, add the garlic and chilli, stirring continuously for about 10 seconds until golden and aromatic.
▶ Add a splash of sweet chilli vinegar and as it vigorously simmers, releasing perfumed aromas, add the prawns and cook, stirring a few times.
▶ Once the prawns turn pink, after 1 or 2 minutes of cooking, remove from the heat and season with sea salt flakes.
▶ Once the prawns are cool enough to eat, scatter with parsley and serve with small forks or toothpicks as the perfect sharing starter. Finish off with crusty bread to soak up all that flavour-infused olive oil.
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Results
2pm Handicap (PA) Dh85,000 1,800m
Winner AF Al Baher, Tadhg O’Shea (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
2.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Alla Mahlak, Fabrice Veron, Rashed Bouresly.
3pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,400m
Winner Davy Lamp, Adrie de Vries, Rashed Bouresly.
3.30pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 1,400m
Winner Ode To Autumn, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
4pm Handicap (TB) Dh80,000 1,950m
Winner Arch Gold, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
4.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,800m
Winner Meqdam, Pat Dobbs, Doug Watson.
5pm Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 1,800m
Winner Native Appeal, Sam Hitchcott, Doug Watson.
5.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh75,000 1,400m
Winner Amani Pico, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar
Sui Dhaaga: Made in India
Director: Sharat Katariya
Starring: Varun Dhawan, Anushka Sharma, Raghubir Yadav
3.5/5
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Phnom Penh via Yangon from Dh2,700 return including taxes. Cambodia Bayon Airlines and Cambodia Angkor Air offer return flights from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap from Dh250 return including taxes. The flight takes about 45 minutes.
The hotels
Rooms at the Raffles Le Royal in Phnom Penh cost from $225 (Dh826) per night including taxes. Rooms at the Grand Hotel d'Angkor cost from $261 (Dh960) per night including taxes.
The tours
A cyclo architecture tour of Phnom Penh costs from $20 (Dh75) per person for about three hours, with Khmer Architecture Tours. Tailor-made tours of all of Cambodia, or sites like Angkor alone, can be arranged by About Asia Travel. Emirates Holidays also offers packages.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
The view from The National
Match info
Athletic Bilbao 0
Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 73' pen)
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