UK House Prices Rise; US, Canada Cool

UK house prices rose 3.0% year‑on‑year to August, with the average UK home valued at £273,000 and regional figures showing England £296,000 (+2.9%), Wales £211,000 (+2.0%), Scotland £194,000 (+4.0%) and Northern Ireland posting the strongest quarterly growth (+5.5%); London was the only English region to record a year‑on‑year fall (-0.3%) while the North East led English regional growth (+6.6%). Private‑sector rents increased 5.5% year‑on‑year in September, the smallest annual rise since November 2022, pointing to slowing rent inflation. Analysts say the market has cooled from a spring surge driven by buyers rushing to beat a tax‑break deadline, and that high inflation, elevated mortgage rates and economic uncertainty are giving buyers more negotiating power. UK inflation unexpectedly undershot forecasts in September (CPI 3.8% vs. 4.0 expected), keeping Bank of England rate‑cut bets alive and weighing on sterling, a dynamic that could feed back into housing demand and financing costs. Internationally, policymakers and markets are wrestling with affordability: Canada’s housing minister said average prices must fall to restore affordability, while U.S. data show the slowest housing‑market pace for this time of year in nearly a decade, with longer listing times and larger price discounts.