Evans Chamberlain Asset Management: UK Property Prices Fall Unexpectedly

TAIPEI, Taiwan, March 12, 2018 (Newswire.com) - Economists at Evans Chamberlain Asset Management say that data from a leading mortgage lender revealed U.K. property prices declined unexpectedly last month.

While a poll of economists forecasts an increase in prices of 0.2 percent, property prices declined 0.3 percent in February after a 0.8 percent increase the month before.

On a yearly basis, property prices increased 2.2 percent in February, a sharp decline after a 3.2 percent growth in January. Economists had predicted growth of around 2.6 percent.

An Evans Chamberlain Asset Management economist stated that, although monthly shifts can be volatile, the decline in property prices points to a more serious slowdown in the property sector in the last few months.

Gauges of consumer sentiment and retail sales were relatively weak over the holiday period and at the beginning of 2018, pointing to the pressure on household budgets continuing to take its toll.

Evans Chamberlain Asset Management economists say that consumers, traditionally the primary driver of the U.K.’s economy have been hit hard by elevated inflation since the Brexit vote in June of 2016 caused the pound to devalue against other major currencies. The U.K. economy was the worst-performing out the Group of Seven economies over the duration of last year.

Nationwide, the country’s largest mortgage lender stated that the outlook for property price growth in the U.K. would depend largely on the course chosen by the Bank of England with regards to interest rates and the outcome of Brexit negotiations.

Last week, a survey of economists indicated that U.K. property prices are likely to rise very slowly over the coming years at an annual rate of approximately 2.0 percent.

Source: Evans Chamberlain