U.K. house prices increased at the fastest pace in nearly three years in June, as measures initiated by the central bank provided easy access to low cost credit, a monthly report released by the Nationwide Building Society showed Friday.
House prices were 1.9 percent higher than in the same period of last year, the biggest growth since September 2010. Economists expected a 2.1 percent increase in house prices following May's 1.1 percent rise.
On a month-over-month basis, house prices climbed 0.3 percent compared to the 0.4 percent rise seen in May. Economists had forecast prices to rise by 0.4 percent.
The annual growth masks notable divergence across the regions. The strongest performing regions are in the south of England - especially London.
In London, cost of a typical home reached an all time high of GBP 318,214, which is almost twice the level prevailing in the rest of the UK when London is excluded. Overall, a home in the U.K. is worth GBP 168,941.
In the second quarter, house prices gained 0.4 percent sequentially, taking the annual growth to 1.4 percent. London continues to lead the annual price growth.
Even with the increase, house prices are around 9 percent below their pre-crisis peak. By contrast, London house prices reached a new all time high, 5 percent above their pre-crisis level.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist noted that improvement in the availability and a reduction in the cost of credit as well as modest gains in employment supported demand for homes. Moreover, signs of economic recovery boosted buyer sentiment.
The recent property market surveys revealed that market conditions improved, mostly supported by Bank of England's Funding for Lending Scheme, or FLS, and the government's Help to Buy scheme.
The BoE's FLS was launched in July 2012, offering funding to banks and building societies for boosting their lending to the real economy. The Help to Buy scheme is a new government-backed initiative aimed at helping buyers purchase a property without large deposits.
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May 22, 2026 14:46 ET Minutes of the latest Fed policy session was the highlight of the week along with survey data on the U.S. housing market. In Europe, survey data signaled the trends in the euro area private sector. Further, consumer price inflation data from the U.K. was in focus. In Asia, various economic indicators from China drew attention to the health of the economy.