The average price of a house in Britain jumped by 12.6 per cent in October, compared with a year earlier, according the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The jump comes after 9.9 per cent increase in September, which was partly due to stamp duty changes last year, the ONS said.
Across the UK, the average house price in October was £33,000 ($40,657) higher at £296,000.
On a seasonally-adjusted basis, the average UK house price increased by 0.7 per cent between September and October, following an increase of 0.5 per cent in the previous month.
The news comes as the latest inflation data shows a fall in consumer price inflation (CPI) to 10.7 per cent in November, from 11.1 per cent the month before.
“Annual house price inflation increased in October, although this was mainly because of the sharp fall in house prices at the same time last year following the end of the stamp duty holiday.” said Aimee North, head of housing market indices at the ONS.
“London saw the lowest annual growth throughout the UK and was the only region to show a fall in average house prices between September and October 2022, while house prices in the north-east saw the highest annual growth.”
Nonetheless, experts still believe house prices will start to fall significantly in the coming years.
“When the spring market gets under way next March, mortgage rates will be more than two percentage points higher than at the same point in 2022", said Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank.
“This will keep transaction volumes in check and means price declines will become more prevalent. Knight Frank expects UK prices to fall by 10 per cent over the next two years, taking them back to where they were in summer 2021.
“We think London prices will continue to underperform the rest of the country, with the exception of prime central areas, which will benefit from a higher proportion of cash buyers.”
Jamie Durham, an economist at PwC UK, said: “Given the current economic conditions, there is considerable uncertainty in the outlook for the housing market.
"However, stretched household finances, rising interest rates and a likely recession means a decline in house prices does look likely over the coming months.”
Rental market strength
The ONS said rental prices made their strongest gains in six years, driven by large gains in the rental markets in London and the East Midlands.
ONS data showed private rents paid by UK tenants rose by 4 per cent in the 12 months to November, up from 3.8 per cent in the 12 months to October, which is the biggest annual percentage change since the records started in January 2016.
Annual private rental prices increased by 3.9 per cent in England, 3.1 per cent in Wales and 4.4 per cent in Scotland in the 12 months to November.
In London, private rental prices were up by 3.5 per cent in the 12 months to November, the strongest annual percentage change since April 2016.
Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
Overview
Cricket World Cup League Two: Nepal, Oman, United States tri-series, Tribhuvan University, Kathmandu
Fixtures
Wednesday February 5, Oman v Nepal
Thursday, February 6, Oman v United States
Saturday, February 8, United States v Nepal
Sunday, February 9, Oman v Nepal
Tuesday, February 11, Oman v United States
Wednesday, February 12, United States v Nepal
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
New UK refugee system
- A new “core protection” for refugees moving from permanent to a more basic, temporary protection
- Shortened leave to remain - refugees will receive 30 months instead of five years
- A longer path to settlement with no indefinite settled status until a refugee has spent 20 years in Britain
- To encourage refugees to integrate the government will encourage them to out of the core protection route wherever possible.
- Under core protection there will be no automatic right to family reunion
- Refugees will have a reduced right to public funds
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
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The biog
Favourite food: Fish and seafood
Favourite hobby: Socialising with friends
Favourite quote: You only get out what you put in!
Favourite country to visit: Italy
Favourite film: Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.
Family: We all have one!
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
