Interest rate warning as house price rise continues

The average price of a home climbed 1.6% in August to reach £160,224 - from £158,871 in July - and the increase has also reduced the annual rate of decline in property values, from 6.2% last month to just 2.7%. Elsewhere, the three-monthly comparison of property prices (three months to July versus three months to August) rose 0.6% to 3.3%, the biggest jump since February 2007. Martin Gahbauer, Nationwide chief economist, says: "The fall in debt serving costs has meant fewer homeowners are under immediate financial pressure to sell than might have been expected in a recessionary econom...