UK house prices rise for second month; Aldi raises pay for workers – business live
Good morning, and welcome to our live, rolling coverage of business, economics and financial markets.
First up this morning: UK house prices rose for the second consecutive month in November, defying a limping economy because of a shortage of homes, according to the latest data from lender Halifax.
The average price of houses tracked by the lender increased by 0.5% in November – or £1,394 in cash terms – to £283,615.
That means that the average is still lower than a year ago, but only by 1%. The chart shows that the pace of annual price drops is slowing:
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said:
Over the last year, despite the wider economic headwinds, property prices have held up better than expected, falling by a relatively modest -1.0% on an annual basis, and still some £40,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand. That said, recent figures for mortgage approvals suggest a slight uptick in activity levels, which is likely as a result of an improving picture on affordability for homebuyers. With mortgage rates starting to ease slightly, this may be leading to increased buyer confidence, seeing people more inclined to push ahead with their home purchases.
However, the economic conditions remain uncertain, making it hard to assess the extent to which market activity will be maintained. Other pressures – like inflation, the broader cost of living, overall employment rates and affordability – mean we expect to see downward pressure on house prices into next year.
Aldi raises pay for workers to £12 minimum
Aldi has raised the minimum pay for workers in its shops and warehouses to £12 per hour, in a sign of the competition for workers in the UK amid low unemployment.
The new minimum rate increases to £13.55 within the M25 to account for a higher cost of living in London. Store assistants’ pay will rise to £12.95 nationally, and £13.85 within the M25, according to length of service.
Aldi said the change means it is the first supermarket to offer rates in line with the real living wage that was set by the Living Wage Foundation in October this year. The changes will cost £67m annually, Aldi said.
Aldi is the UK’s fourth-largest supermarket after overtaking Morrisons last year for the first time. It has more than 1,000 stores, 11 regional distribution centres and 40,000 workers across Britain.
Giles Hurley, chief executive of Aldi UK and Ireland, said the company was “committed to being the highest-paying supermarket in the sector.”
The agenda
10am BST: Eurozone GDP third estimate (Q3; previous: 0.2%; consensus: -0.1%)
1:30pm BST: US initial jobless claims (December; prev.: 218,000; cons.: 222,000)