UK property values still rising

Property values in the UK have continued to rise throughout May and the overall market remains stable, the latest figures suggest.

The UK house price index, which is produced by the department of communities and local government, shows that mortgage completions during the period were up and prices had risen by 0.7 per cent compared to the previous month.

According to the body, the rise means that property values are now 11 per cent higher than they were at this stage last year and had grown 1.7 per cent during the quarter.

However, Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), believes that the index may add to the uncertainty about the current state of the real estate market in the UK.

He argues that the conflicting information being given by various different price indexes was giving off mixed messages.

"Notwithstanding this, the key indicators from the latest RICS Housing Market Survey all suggest the second half of the year will be softer in terms of pricing than the first half," Mr Rubinsohn explained.

"New instructions are now outstripping buyer interest and this has been reflected in the RICS price expectations series turning negative."

Knight Frank recently claimed that prices for prime country houses rose 2.5 per cent in the second quarter of the year.

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