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Poor wage growth behind housing slow-down, says Halifax | Poor wage growth behind housing slow-down, says Halifax |
(35 minutes later) | |
The Halifax is blaming poor growth in wages for a continuing slow-down in house prices. | The Halifax is blaming poor growth in wages for a continuing slow-down in house prices. |
The lender said that prices in 2014 rose by 7.8% - well down from the peak in July, when prices went up by 10.2% compared with a year earlier. | |
In the three months to December, the cost of a home went up by just 0.3% - marking five months of declining quarterly inflation. | |
It said that slow growth in real-terms wages was one of the main reasons. | It said that slow growth in real-terms wages was one of the main reasons. |
Martin Ellis, the Halifax's chief economist, highlighted "earnings growth that has been consistently below consumer price inflation until very recently". | Martin Ellis, the Halifax's chief economist, highlighted "earnings growth that has been consistently below consumer price inflation until very recently". |
Average weekly earnings overtook inflation in September 2014, for the first time in five years. | |
Figures published in December showed average weekly earnings - excluding bonuses - rising by 1.6% a year. | |
Inflation, as measured by the Consumer Prices Index (CPI), is currently running at just 1%. | |
Martin Ellis said another reason for moderating prices was that property had become less affordable. | |
The average price of a house or flat in the UK is now £188,858, said the Halifax. |