<div><p>Home prices rose by 1.1 percent in July from the level the previous month, but fell over 12 months, a survey from home-loans provider Halifax showed on Wednesday.</p><p>Halifax -- part of the state-controlled Lloyds Banking Group -- added that the prices of homes in July were 12.1-percent lower compared with the level in the same month of 2008.</p><p>"Demand for homes has risen, albeit from a very low base, since the start of the year, driven by improvements in affordability and low interest rates," said Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis in a statement.</p><p>He added: "Higher demand has combined with the low levels of property available for sale to boost sales activity from exceptionally low levels and support prices over the past few months."</p><p>According to Halifax, the average cost of a home stood at 159,623 pounds in July 2009.</p><p>Last week, another major home-loans provider, Nationwide, had said house prices rose by 1.3 percent in July from June, leaving the average cost of a home at almost 159,000 pounds.</p><p>Nationwide had also said prices were 1.3 percent higher so far this year and could finish slightly higher for the year as a whole.</p><p>"The significant rise in house prices in July reported by both the Halifax and the Nationwide -- following on from other increases -- will obviously fuel speculation that the housing market has turned decisively," said IHS Global Insight economist Howard Archer.</p><p>"It has benefited in recent months from sharply reduced mortgage interest rates and the substantial fall in house prices from their 2007 peak levels.</p><p>However, he sounded a cautious note about a sustained rise in house prices amid a deep recession.</p><p>"We suspect that they will be prone to relapses over the coming months and we certainly do not think that a sharp sustained upward trend in house prices is in the process of developing," Archer added.</p><p>"Affordability pressures are starting to move back up at a time when the economic climate of recession, sharply rising unemployment and slowing wage growth is negative for the housing market."</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=56172624&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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