UK house prices recover amid signs of pickup in London

UK house prices rebounded in September amid signs of a pickup in sales of London's most expensive properties. Prices rose 0.7 per cent this month, matching the average for September since 2011. In the capital, there was a 6 per cent rise in sales agreed to for homes costing £750,000 (S$1.35 million) or more compared to the same last month last year, a property firm said. The increase left the average national asking price at £304,061, up from £301,973 the previous month. Slower economic growth, government tax changes and the UK's exit from the European Union have all been blamed for the slowdown, which has been felt most acutely in the capital. The UK's future outside of the EU is also worrying the business community. The British Chamber of Commerce (BCC) cut its forecasts for the UK on Monday, predicting growth of 1.1 per cent this year and 1.3 per cent in 2019, down from 1.3 per cent and 1.4 per cent, respectively. That implies that, by 2020, the nation will have had its second weakest decade of average annual GDP growth on record, the media said.