The average British house price ended 2020 on a record high of £253,374 ($344,137), according to Halifax, but monthly house price growth slowed to 0.2 per cent as Britain’s Covid-fuelled property boom cooled.
House prices recorded a 6 per cent annual rise in December, according to the Halifax House Price Index, ending a tumultuous year that saw the sector shutdown during the first lockdown at the start of the pandemic.
However, the 0.2 per cent monthly increase marks a sharp decline from the 1 per cent rise recorded in November and is the lowest level seen since the surge in prices began during the summer.
Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said 2020 was a tale of two distinct halves for the housing market.
"Following a strong start, the first half was dominated by the restrictions on movement due to Covid-19, and prices were subsequently down 0.5 per cent at mid-year as the market effectively ground to a halt," said Mr Galley.
“However, when the market reopened, prices soared as a result of pent-up demand, a desire amongst buyers for greater space and the time-limited incentive of the stamp duty holiday.”
British mortgage approvals soared to their highest level in 13 years in November when most of the country was in lockdown, according to the Bank of England.
UK lenders approved 104,969 mortgages in November – the highest level since the financial crisis – following a surge in market activity over the summer.
The boom was driven by pent-up demand following the first lockdown at the height of the pandemic that shuttered the sector, and UK finance minister Rishi Sunak's Stamp Duty Land Tax holiday, which offers buyers savings of up to £15,000.
Despite the pandemic, there were 715,300 house purchase approvals in the period up to November, close to the same number over the same period in 2019.
House prices were 2.6 per cent higher in the fourth quarter of the year compared to the preceding three months, despite the slower growth seen in December.
The strength in the housing market contrasts sharply with the wider economy, which is battling falling output and rising unemployment, with UK lender Nationwide saying the outlook for prices this year is highly uncertain.
Mr Galley said the high mortgage approval levels indicate there may be enough residual strength in the market to sustain prices in the near term up to the deadline for the stamp duty holiday and the scaling back of a help-to-buy scheme at the end of March.
“However, with the pace of the UK’s economic recovery expected to be constrained by the renewed national lockdown, and unemployment widely predicted to rise in the coming months, downward pressure on house prices remains likely as we move through 2021," Mr Galley said.
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
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Always use only regulated platforms
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Courtesy: Crystal Intelligence
The 24-man squad:
Goalkeepers: Thibaut Courtois (Chelsea), Simon Mignolet (Liverpool), Koen Casteels (VfL Wolfsburg).
Defenders: Toby Alderweireld (Tottenham), Thomas Meunier (Paris Saint-Germain), Thomas Vermaelen (Barcelona), Jan Vertonghen (Tottenham), Dedryck Boyata (Celtic), Vincent Kompany (Manchester City).
Midfielders: Marouane Fellaini (Manchester United), Axel Witsel (Tianjin Quanjian), Kevin De Bruyne (Manchester City), Eden Hazard (Chelsea), Nacer Chadli (West Bromwich Albion), Leander Dendoncker (Anderlecht), Thorgan Hazard (Borussia Moenchengladbach), Youri Tielemans (Monaco), Mousa Dembele (Tottenham Hotspur).
Forwards: Michy Batshuayi (Chelsea/Dortmund), Yannick Carrasco (Dalian Yifang), Adnan Januzaj (Real Sociedad), Romelu Lukaku (Manchester United), Dries Mertens (Napoli).
Standby player: Laurent Ciman (Los Angeles FC).
F1 The Movie
Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Rating: 4/5
Conflict, drought, famine
Estimates of the number of deaths caused by the famine range from 400,000 to 1 million, according to a document prepared for the UK House of Lords in 2024.
It has been claimed that the policies of the Ethiopian government, which took control after deposing Emperor Haile Selassie in a military-led revolution in 1974, contributed to the scale of the famine.
Dr Miriam Bradley, senior lecturer in humanitarian studies at the University of Manchester, has argued that, by the early 1980s, “several government policies combined to cause, rather than prevent, a famine which lasted from 1983 to 1985. Mengistu’s government imposed Stalinist-model agricultural policies involving forced collectivisation and villagisation [relocation of communities into planned villages].
The West became aware of the catastrophe through a series of BBC News reports by journalist Michael Buerk in October 1984 describing a “biblical famine” and containing graphic images of thousands of people, including children, facing starvation.
Band Aid
Bob Geldof, singer with the Irish rock group The Boomtown Rats, formed Band Aid in response to the horrific images shown in the news broadcasts.
With Midge Ure of the band Ultravox, he wrote the hit charity single Do They Know it’s Christmas in December 1984, featuring a string of high-profile musicians.
Following the single’s success, the idea to stage a rock concert evolved.
Live Aid was a series of simultaneous concerts that took place at Wembley Stadium in London, John F Kennedy Stadium in Philadelphia, the US, and at various other venues across the world.
The combined event was broadcast to an estimated worldwide audience of 1.5 billion.
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Nick's journey in numbers
Countries so far: 85
Flights: 149
Steps: 3.78 million
Calories: 220,000
Floors climbed: 2,000
Donations: GPB37,300
Prostate checks: 5
Blisters: 15
Bumps on the head: 2
Dog bites: 1
Tips to stay safe during hot weather
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Temple numbers
Expected completion: 2022
Height: 24 meters
Ground floor banquet hall: 370 square metres to accommodate about 750 people
Ground floor multipurpose hall: 92 square metres for up to 200 people
First floor main Prayer Hall: 465 square metres to hold 1,500 people at a time
First floor terrace areas: 2,30 square metres
Temple will be spread over 6,900 square metres
Structure includes two basements, ground and first floor
THE CLOWN OF GAZA
Director: Abdulrahman Sabbah
Starring: Alaa Meqdad
Rating: 4/5
How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
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