Nationwide report tenth successive month of house price growth
This week saw Nationwide publish their house price index for May, revealing that the average property value has increased by 11.2% over the past twelve months, following the tenth successive monthly increase in the period.
Property values rose by 0.9% in the month, reaching an average price of £269,914.
Despite growing headwinds from the squeeze on household budgets due to high inflation and a steady increase in borrowing costs, the housing market has maintained a surprising amount of momentum.
We continue to expect the housing market to slow as the year progresses.
ROBERT GARDNER, CHIEF ECONOMIST, NATIONWIDE
HBF report casts doubt over Natural England nutrient impact calculations
A report by Lichfields – commissioned by the Home Builders Federation (HBF) – has found that Natural England has “significantly” overestimated the impact of new housing development on nutrient pollution.
The paper, titled Achieving nutrient neutrality for new housing development, questions the amount of nutrient-related pollution generated by new-build housing. Recently, new rules implemented by Natural England require local authorities to assess all applications, which has led to the delay of an estimated 120,000 homes.
Countryside rejects takeover bid by US investor
Developer Countryside Properties has rejected two takeover bids by Inclusive Capital Partners, stating that the proposals “undervalued the company”.
The US-based investment management firm, which already holds a 9.2% stake in Countryside, made two offers in April and May, for 225p and 295p per Countryside share respectively.
But, after evaluating the proposals, Countryside concluded that the offers “materially undervalued the company and its prospects.”
Housing View 