House prices up by 3.9% percent in UK

House prices in the UK rose by 3.9 percent last July, compared to the same time in 2012, leading the average house price to reach 171,000 sterling. Nationwide Building Society released a report on Friday showing that this is the fastest rise in house prices since 2010, adding that home values increased by 0.8 percent between June and July. The latest rise in prices is due to people having more confidence in the real estate sector, while economy developed between last April and June, said the report, adding that the gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 0.6 percent. The report mentioned that house prices are currently higher by 12 percent, compared to the prices recorded during the Global Financial Crisis in 2008. The current prices are less by ten percent compared to the highest average house price ever recorded in 2007. The report expected the real estate sector to continue growing next year, due to the availability of soft loans provided by the country's financial support program, with a cost of 130 billion sterling