Article Summary
UK house prices rose 6.4% in the 12 months to March, according to the latest House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry. This is up from the 5.5% increase seen in the 12 months to February. The average house price now sits at £271,000, which is £16,000 higher than a year ago. The Land Registry house price index is considered the most accurate as it uses actual sales data, but it lags other indices like those provided by Nationwide, Halifax, and Zoopla.
What This Means for You
- With inflation edging up and mortgage rates likely to follow, this could see average house prices start to retreat again.
- The stamp duty threshold has been cut from 1 April, leading many people to try to complete purchases before the deadline, driving up prices in the process.
- Consider the ongoing affordability challenges and higher costs of moving home, especially for first-time buyers, in your property purchasing decisions.
- House prices are expected to stabilize due to constrained supply and affordability challenges, despite the slowdown in property transactions and higher stamp duty costs.
Original Post
UK house prices rose 6.4% in the 12 months to March, according latest House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) and Land Registry
This is up from the 5.5% increase we last saw in the 12 months to February.
The average house price now sits at £271,000 in March, which is £16,000 higher than a year ago. Between February and March, property prices rose 1.1%.
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Andrew Montlake, managing director at mortgage broker Coreco, said there was a “significant” uptick in activity levels in the months leading up to March as buyers sought to beat the stamp duty deadline, which “clearly drove up prices”.
Homebuyers have benefited from lower stamp duty bills in recent years, but the threshold at which you start paying the property tax was cut from 1 April, leading many people to try to complete purchases before the deadline.
“However with inflation edging up sharply this morning, and mortgage rates likely to follow as expectations of further base interest rate cuts reduce, this could see average values start to retreat again,” Montlake said.
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