UK house prices up 1.3 pc in July

LONDON: House prices in the United Kingdom rose by 1.3 per cent in July, and may finish the year with a slight gain, a major mortgage lender said on Thursday.

The Nationwide Building Society, the nation's third-largest mortgage lender, said July's gain left the average price 6.2 per cent lower than a year ago, at 158,871 pounds ($261,200).

For the first seven months of the year, Nationwide's index also showed prices rising by 1.3 per cent, raising the possibility of a full-year increase from the depths of the market's fall.

``Only a few months ago such an outcome would have appeared unthinkable,'' said Nationwide's chief economist Martin Gahbauer.

However, he warned that rising unemployment, currently 7.6 per cent, is likely to force more owners to sell.

``It is unlikely, therefore, that price increases can be sustained for long at the very strong rate observed over the last few months,'' Gahbauer said.