Tentative signs that prices are stabilising

The latest data brought tentative signs that the stabilisation in house prices that we have been expecting may now be happening. In January, our seasonally adjusted measure of the CoreLogic index rose by 0.9% m/m. Admittedly, an earlier rise in April 2011 came to nothing, and prices on the less timely indices are still falling. But there are good reasons to think that the tide has now turned. The most compelling of these are the improvement in housing demand and the fall in the excess supply which have left the months of unsold stock consistent with stable house prices.