Property news: 60 years of the property market

House prices rise in May
House prices in the UK rose by 0.5% in May 2012 to an average of £160,941, according to the latest Halifax house price index, but remain down 0.1% on an annual basis.

The rise follows a 2.4% drop in April, but economists said that despite the volatility house prices remained broadly unchanged since the start of 2011. Read more on this story

UK homes are worth £5.6 trillion, research shows
Britain’s homes are worth £5.6 trillion and the county of Surrey has the nation’s most valuable at £288 billion, or 5.1% of the total, new research published today shows.

Surrey, where many wealthy celebrities and footballers live, has both the highest total property value in the UK but also has the most property wealth per head at £255,125 each. Read more on this story

The difference 60 years makes in the mortgage market
Much has changed in the 60 years since the Queen came to the throne but few things have changed as much as the housing and mortgage markets.

As the country prepares to celebrate the Diamond Jubilee, the number crunchers at the Council of Mortgage Lenders (CML) have been doing the sums about property in 1952. Not to tempt fate but it was, incidentally, another Olympic year but Britain did not win a single gold medal. Read more on this story