House prices defy rate rises
The prospect of higher mortgage payments following a string of interest rate rises is failing to put off optimistic homeowners as they hiked asking prices again in January.
Property website Rightmove said asking prices for UK homes rose at an annual rate of 13.5% this month to a record £222,859, up from the 13% annual growth recorded in December.
For the weeks between December 3 and January 13 prices rose 0.5% compared with a 0.3% decline in the previous survey.
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"The reason house prices are defying the gravity of a six year high in interest rates is because the number of new households is growing by 50,000 a year, more than the supply of new build," said Rightmove commercial director Miles Shipside.
Rightmove noted that a shortage of suitable housing is keeping prices high, with stock levels per estate agent at their lowest for three years.
