Both Halifax and the Nationwide reported significant increases in house prices for the year to the end of June with the Halifax recording its highest rate of increase since August 2010 at 3.7%.

Over the same period the Nationwide recorded a 1.9% increase.  Although the two indexes rarely agree from month to month the trends from both are virtually identical.

For the moving industry this is good news.  It demonstrates that the market has, after years of stagnation, finally opened up and people are moving again.  Only if house prices rise again to unaffordable levels will the number of moves begin to fall again and there seems to be little sign of that in the near future.

In a recent interview Martin Ellis from Halifax said that it was a general improvement in the economy that was pushing up house prices.  “Also, because prices have been rising gently means that people are becoming more confident about coming into the housing market,” he said.  The shortage of property for sale and the very low interest rates were also having an effect.

Mr. Ellis did not believe that the government’s measures to help people get a foot on the property ladder were a significant factor although he said that there are some early signs that they are beginning to stimulate the market and give it a bit of a boost.  “Mortgage payments as a percentage of earnings is well below the long-term average,” he said.  “I don’t see any near term increase in interest rates. When it does come it’s likely to be a gentle increase giving people time to adjust.”

Two UK house builders have also reported figures that support the lenders’ findings.  Redrow said the number of homes it had built in the past year had risen by 15%, and added that its full-year profits, to be announced in September, were likely to be ahead of expectations.  Taylor Wimpey said it was trading at the upper end of its expectations and said that it had seen a significant improvement in the housing market in the first six months of 2013.

About time too!