The average UK house price shrank in September, after hitting a record high the previous month.
A typical British property now costs £293,835, figures compiled by the bank Halifax show, after prices fell by 0.1 per cent.
The annual rate of house price growth also slowed to 9.9 per cent in September from 11.4 per cent in August, returning to single digits for the first time since January.
But figures going back to the summer indicate the housing market may have already entered a more sustained period of slower growth, Halifax said.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said house prices have been “largely flat” since June, up by about £250.
"This compares to a rise of more than £10,000 during the previous quarter, suggesting the housing market may have already entered a more sustained period of slower growth,” she said.
"Predicting what happens next means making sense of the many variables now at play and the housing market has consistently defied expectations in recent times.
"While stamp duty cuts, the short supply of homes for sale and a strong labour market all support house prices, the prospect of interest rates continuing to rise sharply amid the cost-of-living squeeze, plus the impact in recent weeks of higher mortgage borrowing costs on affordability, are likely to exert more significant downward pressure on house prices in the months ahead”
She said this will “undoubtedly be a cause of some concern for homeowners,” but the unprecedented rate of property price inflation seen in recent years has been “far above” the historic average.
"It's important to look at slower growth in this context — since the start of the pandemic average property values have risen by around 23 per cent [nearly £55,000] with detached house prices up by more than £100,000 over the same period,” she added.
The number of mortgage products available fell sharply following the recent mini-budget and as product choice has gradually returned, lenders have been pricing their mortgage deals upwards.
The average five-year fixed rate mortgage and the average two-year fix breached 6 per cent this week ― the first time this has happened in more than a decade ― according to data from Moneyfacts.co.uk.
Households are now paying the greatest portion of their income on mortgage payments since 1989, according to experts.
Looking across the UK, annual house price growth is strongest in Wales, at 14.8 per cent.
Meanwhile, in Scotland, London, Eastern England and the North East of England, annual house price inflation fell to single-digit levels.
The West Midlands has overtaken the South West to record the strongest rate of annual growth in England, with house prices rising by 13.3 per cent over the past year.
Alice Haine, a personal finance analyst at Bestinvest, said: "While the pace of mortgage rate rises has accelerated since the mini-budget, the situation is not a complete surprise.
"Mortgage costs have been increasing steadily since December when the Bank of England first started pushing up its base rate from a record low of 0.1 per cent in a bid to curb runaway inflation.
"The base rate now sits at 2.25 per cent, with expectations it might jump up to 1 per cent at the Monetary Policy Committee meeting next month, pushing up mortgage rates once again."
Matthew Thompson, head of sales at Chestertons, said the estate agent is "encountering an increasing number of house hunters who want to secure a property as soon as possible and take out a fixed-rate mortgage".
He added: "This has contributed to September's property market remaining busy and competitive. As the cost-of-living crisis is looming, some buyers are compromising on their priorities in order to secure a property under their initial budget."
Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said the weakening economic outlook and squeezed household incomes, means property values could fall by 5 per cent or more over the next year or so.
Nicky Stevenson, managing director at estate agent Fine & Country, said sterling's weakness provides a window of opportunity for foreign investors, adding: "In higher value market areas like London, significant savings can now be made compared with the start of the year and we are already seeing a spike in interest from overseas."
Results
1. New Zealand Daniel Meech – Fine (name of horse), Richard Gardner – Calisto, Bruce Goodin - Backatorps Danny V, Samantha McIntosh – Check In. Team total First round: 200.22; Second round: 201.75 – Penalties 12 (jump-off 40.16 seconds) Prize €64,000
2. Ireland Cameron Hanley – Aiyetoro, David Simpson – Keoki, Paul Kennedy – Cartown Danger Mouse, Shane Breen – Laith. Team total 200.25/202.84 – P 12 (jump-off 51.79 – P17) Prize €40,000
3. Italy Luca Maria Moneta – Connery, Luca Coata – Crandessa, Simone Coata – Dardonge, Natale Chiaudani – Almero. Team total 130.82/198.-4 – P20. Prize €32,000
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Europe's top EV producers
- Norway (63% of cars registered in 2021)
- Iceland (33%)
- Netherlands (20%)
- Sweden (19%)
- Austria (14%)
- Germany (14%)
- Denmark (13%)
- Switzerland (13%)
- United Kingdom (12%)
- Luxembourg (10%)
Source: VCOe
'Panga'
Directed by Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring Kangana Ranaut, Richa Chadha, Jassie Gill, Yagya Bhasin, Neena Gupta
Rating: 3.5/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Closing the loophole on sugary drinks
As The National reported last year, non-fizzy sugared drinks were not covered when the original tax was introduced in 2017. Sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, 20 grams of sugar per 500ml bottle.
The non-fizzy drink AriZona Iced Tea contains 65 grams of sugar – about 16 teaspoons – per 680ml can. The average can costs about Dh6, which would rise to Dh9.
Drinks such as Starbucks Bottled Mocha Frappuccino contain 31g of sugar in 270ml, while Nescafe Mocha in a can contains 15.6g of sugar in a 240ml can.
Flavoured water, long-life fruit juice concentrates, pre-packaged sweetened coffee drinks fall under the ‘sweetened drink’ category
Not taxed:
Freshly squeezed fruit juices, ground coffee beans, tea leaves and pre-prepared flavoured milkshakes do not come under the ‘sweetened drink’ band.
Company: Instabug
Founded: 2013
Based: Egypt, Cairo
Sector: IT
Employees: 100
Stage: Series A
Investors: Flat6Labs, Accel, Y Combinator and angel investors
