UK annual house price growth picks up in June

LONDON: Annual growth in British house prices picked up to a three-month high in June in the run-up to the Brexit vote, which has unclear implications for the housing market, mortgage lender Nationwide said.

Nationwide said house prices rose 0.2% in June - unchanged from the rate in April and May - and that annual growth picked up to 5.1% from 4.7%, beating economists’ expectations of a 4.9% rise. Nationwide economist Robert Gardner said it was too early to judge the impact of Britain’s vote to leave the European Union on the housing market, but a lack of homes for sale and high employment rates were likely to keep upward pressure on prices.