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This week a number of lenders increased rates on some of their mortgage deals, including Halifax, Leeds Building Society and Lloyds Bank. Across the charts rates available on deals requiring a high level of equity or deposit are more likely to see rate rises. Saying this, mortgage rates remain highly competitive at the moment, with first-time buyers particularly seeing a more competitive market over recent weeks.

Despite signs of housing market activity cooling in recent months, figures released today show that annual house price growth increased in November to 10.0%.

The figures, released in the November Nationwide House Price Index, reveal that the average house now costs £252,687, an 0.9% increase month-on-month.

“Annual house price growth remained strong in November at 10.0%, marginally higher than the 9.9% recorded in October,” explained Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide. “Prices rose 0.9% in month-on-month terms, after taking account of seasonal effects. As a result, house prices are now almost 15% above the level prevailing in March last year when the pandemic struck the UK.

“There have been some signs of cooling in housing market activity in recent months. For example, the number of housing transactions were down almost 30% year-on-year in October. But this was almost inevitable, given the expiry of the Stamp Duty holiday at the end of September, which gave buyers a strong incentive to bring forward their purchase to avoid additional tax.

“Indeed, activity has been extremely buoyant in 2021. The number of housing transactions so far this year has already exceeded the number recorded in 2020 with two months still to go and is actually tracking close to the number seen at the same stage in 2007, before the global financial crisis struck.

“Moreover, underlying activity appears to be holding up well. The number of mortgages approved for house purchases in October was still running above the 2019 monthly average. Early indications also suggest that labour market conditions remain robust, despite the furlough scheme finishing at the end of September. If this is maintained, housing market conditions may remain fairly buoyant in the coming months, especially since the market has momentum and there is scope for ongoing shifts in housing preferences, as a result of the pandemic, to continue to support activity.

“But the outlook remains uncertain, where a number of factors suggest the pace of activity may slow. It is unclear what impact the new ‘Omicron’ variant will have on the wider economy. While consumer confidence stabilised in November, sentiment remains well below the levels seen during the summer, partly as a result of a sharp increase in the cost of living. Moreover, inflation is set to rise further, probably towards 5% in the coming quarters.

“Even if economic conditions continue to improve, rising interest rates may exert a cooling influence on the market. Indeed, house price growth has been outpacing income growth by a significant margin and, as a result, housing affordability is already less favourable than was the case before the pandemic struck.”

Two lucky premium bond holders are ending the year £1 million richer having scooped the top prize in the December premium bond prize draw.

The first £1 million winner lives in West Sussex and won with the bond number 306VK958372. The holder has £46,000 invested and the winning bond was purchased in July 2017.

The second winner lives in Lancashire and has £14,725 invested in premium bonds. The winning bond number 437QD081540 was purchased in February 2021.

As well as the two £1 million winners, this month’s prize draw saw 3.3 million other prizes handed out to premium bond holders.

The December prize draw has resulted in six premium bond holders winning £100,000, 10 scooping £50,000, 23 receiving £25,000 and 56 winning £10,000. The remaining winners received prizes ranging from £5,000 to £25.

Commenting on this month’s prize draw, Jill Waters, NS&I Retail Director, said: “A massive congratulations to our Premium Bonds jackpot winners in West Sussex and Lancashire. A month on from the 65th anniversary of Premium Bonds going on sale, ERNIE has gone back to his roots and picked a winner from Lancashire where he is based.

“With more than 3.3 million other prizes being dished out in December, Christmas will definitely be coming early for those Premium Bonds customers up and down the country. This Christmas, you can also choose to give children the gift of Premium Bonds, sharing the potential for them to be surprised and delighted each month, and helping them to start a savings habit with one of the nation’s favourite savings products.”

Competition at the top of the easy access savings chart is increasing, with the top rate rising by 0.08% in just a few weeks.

At the beginning of the month the top easy access savings account rate stood at 0.67% AER, whereas now savers can earn 0.75% AER on Aldermore’s Double Access Account Issue 1.

This account requires a £1,000 minimum deposit but does come with the catch of savers only being allowed to make two withdrawals per annum, with a lower interest rate being paid if more are made.

The next two best rates in this chart have also increased over the last few weeks. From today, Investec Bank plc pays 0.71% AER on its Online Flexi Saver, which requires a £5,000 minimum deposit to open and allows unlimited withdrawals.

Meanwhile, Cynergy Bank pays 0.70% AER on its Online Easy Access Account (Issue 43), which includes a 0.40% bonus for 12 months. A minimum deposit of just £1 is needed to open this account and unlimited withdrawals can be made via a nominated account.

As well as this, at the beginning of the week the average easy access savings rate increased from 0.19% to 0.20%, the highest it has stood in 12 months with it lasting standing at 0.20% on 30 November 2020.