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(Reuters) – LONDON, July 7 (Reuters) – The housing market boom in the United Kingdom showed some indications of cooling in June, with prices falling in monthly terms for the first time since January, according to Halifax, a mortgage provider. Halifax reported that prices were 0.5 percent lower than in May. They were 8.8% higher in June 2020 than in June 2020, after rising by the greatest in 14 years in May, when they reached 9.6%. “It’s vital to put such a modest drop in context,” Halifax managing director Russell Galley said, “with average prices remaining more than 21,000 pounds ($29,000) higher than this time last year, following a roughly unparalleled period of growth.” Last week, rival lender Nationwide reported a 13.4% increase in house prices between June 2020 and June 2021, the largest jump in over 16 years. The property market in the United Kingdom has been boosted by finance minister Rishi Sunak’s COVID-19 emergency tax break for buyers, many of whom were already looking for larger homes as a result of the coronavirus outbreak. The first 500,000 pounds of any home purchase in England or Northern Ireland was spared from tax until the end of June. A tax-free amount of £250,000 will be available until the end of September. Demand from those searching for larger homes, according to Galley, will not go away as the economy improves, and a shortage of properties on the market will further sustain prices. “However, by the end of the year, we would still expect annual growth to have slowed slightly more, with unemployment projected to inch higher as job support measures unwind, and the peak of buyer demand now likely to have passed,” he said. In yearly terms, prices in London climbed by a slower-than-average 2.9 percent in June, compared to May. Except for the Midlands, all other regions of the United Kingdom saw prices climb faster than in May. (1 dollar = 0.7240 pounds) William Schomberg contributed reporting, and Michael Holden edited the piece. The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles are our standards./nRead More

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