Money Tips Daily By Charles Kelly, Former Ifa And Author Of Yes, Money Can Buy You Happiness.

UK house prices went up again in October, at the fastest rate for five years, as buyers scrambled to beat next year's stamp duty deadline, the Nationwide Building Society reports. Annual house price growth rose to 5.8% and the average price is now £227,826. A similar survey by the Halifax show an even higher annual growth rate of 7.3% For the next five months, buyers of properties valued at up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland will not have to pay stamp duty on the purchase. Second home buyers and buy-to-let investors will still have to stump up the 3% tax grab surcharge. How long will the boom last? Booms are usually followed by bust, something which has not escaped the attention of the Bank of England. Official figures released by the central bank this week revealed that home-buyer mortgage approval climbed to a 13-year high in September. There are fears that the market is heading for a cliff-edge with potential buyers possibly pulling out of transactions in 2021 if they cannot meet the stamp duty