Halifax estimates average property at £283,615
Mortgage lender Halifax has published its house price index for November, revealing a 0.5% increase in property values over the month – the second monthly increase in a row.
Annual house prices were down by -1.0% vs -3.1% in October.
Northern Ireland is the strongest performing nation, with house prices increasing by 2.3% over the year.
Wales reported the lowest annual fall, at -1.5%.
The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand.
Kim Kinnaird, Director, Halifax MOrtgages
That said, recent figures for mortgage approvals suggest a slight uptick in activity levels, which is likely as a result of an improving picture on affordability for homebuyers.
Increase in application decisions within statutory period
Latest figures from the Department for Levelling Up, Homes and Communities (DLUHC) have revealed that 21% of major planning applications were decided within the statutory time period of 13 weeks during July to September 2023 – an increase of two percentage points from the same quarter a year earlier.
Almost nine out of ten (88%) of applications were decided within 13 weeks or within the agreed time; an increase of one percentage point from the same period in 2022.
In the third quarter of 2023, planning authorities granted 7,900 residential applications, down -10% from the same quarter a year ago.
Overall, around 87,800 applications for planning permission were received, down -12% on the same period in 2022.
Meanwhile, the Housing Forum has published the second of two reports from their cross-sector working group on the planning system, calling on the Government to replace validation checklists with a system based on planning statements.
The report found that local planning authorities required between 21 and 42 documents for all planning applications.
Housebuilding drags down construction output
The latest Purchasing Managers Index from S&P Global / CIPS has signalled another sharp fall in housing activity, resulting in a decline in output for the third successive month.
The index registered 45.5 in November, marginally down from 45.6 in October and below the 50.0 no-value change.
Housebuilding registered a value of 39.2, and was by far the weakest-performing segment. Survey respondents cited cutbacks to residential development projects and a general slowdown in activity due to unfavourable market conditions.
Berkeley reports profit increase
The Berkeley Group has enjoyed an increase in pre-tax profits for the six months to 31 October 2023, reporting £284.8m in its half-year results (2022: £284.8m).
The developer also reported that it was working with its supply chain, with lower cost inflation being replaced by contractor insolvency as “the greater supply chain risk…as the inflation cycle reverses and demand for construction services reduces.”
Housing View 