House prices up in August

House prices up in August

House prices on the rise

House prices in the UK rose by 2.1% in August, the second biggest month-on-month rise for 15 years, meaning they are 13% higher than pre-Covid levels. This comes as a surprise given the stamp duty holiday on properties up to £500,000 came to an end in June, but Nationwide said it could be explained by a shortage of supply in the market and by a boost in demand for properties up to £250,000, on which the stamp duty relief will remain in place until September.

Shop price inflation

Supply chain bottlenecks have pushed shop prices up by 0.4% in August, as retailers compete with each other to secure their supply of goods. The shortages are a result of various Covid-related issues including a lack of lorry drivers, port closures in Asia, and a surge in demand as economies emerge from the pandemic. Although the disruption has been somewhat limited so far, the situation could worsen in the lead up to Christmas.

Shell bets on electric

Oil firm Shell has announced that it plans to install 50,000 on-street electric vehicle (EV) charging points in the UK over the next four years, in collaboration with local authorities. This represents one third of the UK’s target of 150,000 public charge points by 2025, to make EVs more accessible and encourage drivers to switch away from petrol and diesel. The government already subsidises 75% of the local authority’s cost of installation and Shell are offering to cover the rest.