Average property remains below peak despite 2013 performance

Despite a staggering recovery of the housing market in 2013, Nationwide has revealed that the price of an average UK property is still five per cent below the peak seen in late 2007.
According to bbc.co.uk, UK house prices rocketed upwards last year, particularly towards the end. December's prices were up 1.4 per cent compared to November. Overall, in the last quarter of 2013, prices had increased by 2.9 per cent compared to the previous three months.
Over the period of a year, house prices had seen a year-on-year rise of 8.4 per cent, making the average house price £175,826.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said that there were a number of aspects that drove number prices up, including the increased availability of credit and lower mortgage rates.
"Part of the reason for the acceleration in house prices growth is that the supply side of the market has not kept pace with the upturn in demand, even though buyer numbers remain subdued by historic standards," he explained.
"For example, in the third quarter of 2013 the number of housing transactions in England was around 25 per cent below crisis levels, while the number of new homes built was around 45 per cent lower," reports propertywire.com.
Despite the fact the average house price is still below the 2007 peak, Nationwide warned that if demand continues to outmatch supply, many people might not be able to afford a new home.