Talking Points
- Sterling was knocked against the US Dollar after yet another patchy housing market survey
- Rightmove found average prices down 2.1% in December – usually a tricky month
- However, it also said prices would rise 2% in 2017, below the current 3.4% annualized pace
The British Pound took a knock in Asian trading on Monday following more tepid price data from the United Kingdom’s housing market.
Average house prices fell 2.1% on the month for December, much worse than November’s 1.1% slide, according to property website Rightmove. However, on the year prices were up by 3.4%. That was more hopeful but still well below the previous month’s 4.5% gain.
December is traditionally a poor month for home sales, and Rightmove reportedly said that the falls seen were in line with the month’s performance in recent years. A shortage of housing supply is likely to keep the market broadly supported, although inner London prices could continue to struggle as they have since June’s Brexit vote.
The UK housing market has been roiled by uncertainty stemming from that and also by government legislation aimed at making it tougher for landlords to buy houses and then rent them out. Righmove expects overall average gains of 2% in 2017.
GBP/USD was at 1.25970 before the numbers, and came down to 1.25850 soon after.
Taking a knock: GBP/USD after the Rightmove data
Chart compiled using TradingView
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--- Written by David Cottle, DailyFX Research
