LONDON: British house prices were 2.1 per cent higher than a year earlier in July, the biggest annual increase since December 2022, although they are still below peaks reached earlier that year, figures from Nationwide Building Society showed on Thursday.
Prices rose 0.3 per cent in July alone, and both the monthly and the annual increases were slightly greater than economists had forecast in a Reuters poll.
The figures come shortly before the Bank of England is due to announce its August interest rate decision , which many economists think could see interest rates cut from the 16-year high where they have been for almost a year.
"Investors expect Bank Rate to be lowered modestly in the years ahead, which, if correct, will help to bring down borrowing costs," Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner said.
"However, the impact is likely to be fairly modest as the swap rates which underpin fixed-rate mortgage pricing already embody expectations that interest rates will decline in the years ahead," he added.