House prices up 5.2% in 12 months to May 2019, lender data shows

House prices in the UK increased by 5.2% in the 12 months to May 2019, the highest annual growth for a year, taking the average to £237,837, the latest lender index shows. The data from the Halifax also shows that month on month prices increased by 0.5% and on a quarterly basis they were 2.5% higher. But managing director Russell Galley warned that the market is seeing stability as the annual figures should be seen against a backdrop of low growth rates compared with 2018. ‘We saw a slight increase in house prices between April and May, but the overall message is one of stability. Despite the ongoing political and economic uncertainty, underlying conditions in the broader economy continue to underpin the housing market, particularly the twin factors of high employment and low interest rates,’ he said. ‘This is supported by industry wide figures which suggest no real change in the number of homes being sold month to month, while Bank of England data show the number of mortgages being approved rose by almost 6% in April, reversing the softness seen in the previous month,’ he pointed out.