Wait for interest rate cut leads to surprise dip in house price growth
Shifting expectations for UK interest rate cuts have contributed to a dip in house price growth, according to a closely watched measure.
Nationwide reported a 0.4% fall in average property costs last month compared with March, taking the annual rate of growth to 0.6% from 1.6%.
Economists polled by the Reuters news agency had expected month-on-month growth of 0.2%.
The lender’s report said the easing reflected “ongoing affordability pressures, with longer term interest rates rising in recent months, reversing the steep fall seen around the turn of the year”.
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The cost of fixed rate mortgage deals has risen due to market expectations that a Bank of England interest rate cut is looking further away than had been anticipated at the start of the year.
According to the latest data from the financial information service Moneyfacts, the average two-year fixed residential mortgage rate is still creeping back up towards the 6% mark last seen since December.
It charted a figure of 5.9% on Monday – up from 5.87% seen last Friday.
The average five-year rate is nearing 5.5%.
The increases reflect rising borrowing costs for lenders themselves.
It is all based on market expectations that a UK interest rate cut will now not take place until August.
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Interest rate cut hopes pushed back
Earlier bets had been on May but the Bank has recently signalled no let up in its concerns about the outlook for inflation, with those including the pace of wage growth remaining too high.
Nationwide said wider cost of living pressures continued to weigh on buyers during April, despite the pace of wage growth standing at almost double that for price growth.
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Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “Recent research carried out by Censuswide on behalf of Nationwide found that nearly half (49%) of prospective first-time buyers (those looking to buy in the next five years) have delayed their plans over the past year.
“Among this group, the most commonly cited reason for delaying their purchase is that house prices are too high (53%), but it is also notable that 41% said that higher mortgage costs were preventing them from buying.
“Coupled with this, 84% of prospective first-time buyers said that the cost of living has affected their plans to buy, for example through having less money each month to save for a deposit.”
UK
Philip Young appears in Swindon court charged with 56 sexual offences against ex-wife – as five others also charged
A man has appeared in court charged with drugging and raping his ex-wife over a 13-year period.
Philip Young, 49, formerly of Swindon, has been charged with 56 offences, including multiple counts of rape, against Joanne Young.
He is also charged with administering a substance to allow sexual activity, as well as voyeurism, possession of indecent images of children and possession of extreme images.
Young appeared at Swindon Magistrates’ Court this morning and spoke only to confirm his name and address.
He declined to enter a plea and was remanded in custody until the next hearing at crown court on 23 January.
Philip Young was remanded in custody
The 49-year-old was taken to court in Swindon on Tuesday morning
Five other men have also been charged with sexual offences against Ms Young between 2010 and 2023. The 48-year-old has waived her legal right to anonymity.
The other men are on bail but are due in the same court at 2pm.
They are: Norman Macksoni, 47, of Sharnbrook, Bedfordshire. He is a black British national and has been charged with one count of rape and possession of extreme images.
Dean Hamilton, 47, of no fixed abode. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual assault by penetration and two counts of sexual touching.
Conner Sanderson Doyle, 31, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with sexual assault by penetration and sexual touching
Richard Wilkins, 61, of Swindon. He is a white British national and has been charged with one count of rape and sexual touching
Mohammed Hassan, 37, of Swindon. He is a British Asian and has been charged with sexual touching.
The alleged offences took place between 2010 and 2023.
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