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U.K. house prices advance to near three year high

U.K. house prices rose to the highest level in almost three years in October, as a shortage of homes for sale intensified.

The number of real-estate agents saying prices rose exceeded those reporting declines by 34 percentage points, up from 21 points in September and the most since December 2006, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors said in its monthly survey today. A separate British Retail Consortium survey showed stores posted their best October sales growth since 2002.

Buyers are returning to the housing market after values fell as much as a fifth from their peak in 2007. Bank of England policy makers last week slowed the pace of bond purchases amid signs that rising property and stock markets are helping the economy shake off its worst recession in at least three decades.

The upturn in house prices was led by the U.K. capital, where the net balance of surveyors saying prices rose jumped to 95 points, the most since December 1996.

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