UK annual house price growth slows to five-year low - Halifax

Business correspondent(wp/reuters):
British house prices in the three months to October rose at their weakest annual rate in more than five years, major mortgage lender Halifax said on Wednesday, adding to existing signs of a housing market slowdown.
Annual house price growth slowed to 1.5 percent in the three months to October from 2.5 percent in the three months to September, Halifax said, the lowest rate since March 2013 though a slightly smaller fall than predicted in a Reuters poll.

Halifax said it continued to expect house price growth in 2018 to be within a zero to 3 percent range.

“House prices continue to be supported by the fact that the supply of new homes and existing properties available for sale remains low,” the lender, part of Lloyds Banking Group (LLOY.L), said.

Britain’s housing market has slowed overall since early 2016, particularly in London and nearby areas where higher purchase taxes on houses costing over 1 million pounds ($1.3 million) and reduced foreign investor interest since the Brexit vote have had the biggest impact. Outside London, house prices are growing more strongly.

In Britain as a whole, house prices grew by 0.7 percent on the month in October alone after a 1.3 percent decline in September, Halifax said.

“Housing market activity continues to struggle to gain momentum and we suspect the upside will remain limited over the coming months — although there are varying performances across regions,” said Howard Archer, an economist at consultants EY ITEM Club.

Last week rival mortgage lender Nationwide reported a similar slowdown in house prices to a five-year low of 1.6 percent.

The most recent data from Britain’s Office for National Statistics, for the year to August, also showed a slowdown to a five-year low of 3.2 percent.

Young man repeatedly knifed in London’s latest violent attack

Crime reporter(wp/es):

A young man in his 20s has become the latest victim of violence in the capital after he was found with multiple stab wounds.

The victim was found outside of a residential block on Weybridge Point, in Battersea, south-west London, and was rushed to hospital at about 7.10pm on Tuesday night.

Officers have made no arrests following the stabbing and a crime scene was put in place into Wednesday morning.

The man’s condition, police said, is not thought to be life-threatening.

It is the latest incident of violent crime in the capital after five men and boys lost their lives in six days after being stabbed.

A murder investigation was launched for a 16-year-old schoolboy on Monday, after he was stabbed in Tulse Hill.  

A 22-year-old man was knifed to death on Sunday, just after midday, in Anerley, south east London.

On Friday, 17-year-old Malcolm Mide-Madariola was stabbed to death in Wandsworth as well, outside Clapham South station.

Jay Hughes , 15, also known as Jai Sewell, was also stabbed to death in Bellingham, south-east London, on Thursday.

And on Wednesday, Rocky Djelal, 38, died from fatal knife wounds next to a children’s playground at Southwark Park.

Following the violence, a Section 60 order was put in place for the whole of Lambeth until 5am on Wednesday.

The Section 60 power allows officers to stop and search anyone in a certain area, when there is evidence serious violence has taken place.

Rain pours on Tube strike day as commuters forced to walk to work

Staff reporter(wp/es):

Commuters were hit by torrential rain as they made their way to work in London adding further misery to hundreds of thousands affected by a major Tube strike.

The Met Office has forecast that the bad weather will continue for the duration of the morning rush before a brief respite in the late morning and heavy rain this afternoon.

The chance of rain remains above 50 per cent until 10am, and is at 80 per cent from noon, as much of the UK experiences a wet and cloudy day.

Yellow weather warnings are in place for parts of the south-west, Northern Ireland and southwest Scotland as the risk of floods hits coastal areas.

Met Office metrologist Aidan McGivern said: "It will be gloomy, a lot of cloud cover and for many places a wet start to the day.

Met Office metrologist Aidan McGivern said: "It will be gloomy, a lot of cloud cover and for many places a wet start to the day.

There could be 25mm, and in some places 40 to 60mm of rains in the hardest hit areas, said the forecaster.