House prices still surging ahead

BRITAIN'S biggest building society today said that the long-running housing boom is far from over as it unveiled another leap in property prices during August.

Nationwide said the average price of a home shot up by 2.5% during the month, taking the year-on-year rate of increase to 22.7% - the highest since the 1989 height of the late-Eighties boom. Prices have surged by 8.4% in the past three months and the average price of a home is now £110,890.

Alex Bannister, Nationwide's group economist, said there was no sign of underlying weakening in the housing market, despite recent reports suggesting it is cooling.

In July, house sales were up 15% on a year earlier and the number of loans for house purchase was up 22%.

By contrast with Nationwide, figures from residential property expert Hometrack, which claims to give a more up-to-date picture because it tracks agreed offers, showed growth in London house prices slowed for the third month running in August.

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