Our region’s house price rises lead way
Figures show picture before pandemic
PROPERTY: House prices in Yorkshire and the Humber have increased more year-onyear than any other region in England.
Figures published yesterday showed prices nationally jumped to a new record of nearly £220,000 on average just before the pandemic brought market activity to a near-standstill.
HOUSE PRICES in Yorkshire and the Humber have increased more year-on-year than any other region in England.
Figures published yesterday showed prices nationally jumped to a new record of nearly £220,000 on average just before the coronavirus pandemic brought market activity to a nearstandstill.
The data from the Nationwide Building Society indicate the market had been gathering momentum as spring approached, just before measures were implemented to limit the spread of Covid-19.
Across the UK, the average price stood at £219,58 in March – up three per cent compared with a year earlier, which was the fastest pace of annual growth for more than two years. Prices increased by 0.8 per cent monthon-month.
Following several quarters of little or no growth, England saw annual growth increase to 1.9 per cent. In Yorkshire and the Humber, prices were up 4.3 per cent year-on-year.
Nationwide’s chief economist,
Robert Gardner, said: “Annual house price growth increased to per cent in March, up from 2.3 per cent the previous month – the fastest pace since January 2018 (when annual growth was 3.2 per cent).
“The last six months have all seen month-on-month increases, after taking account of seasonal effects. It is important to note that, while we use a full month’s worth of data to generate the index, the cut-off point is slightly before the end of the month.
“This means that developments following the UK Government’s lockdown will not be reflected in these figures.
“Activity is now grinding to a halt as a result of the measures implemented to control the spread of the virus, and where the Government has recommended not entering into housing transactions during this period.
“Indeed, a lack of transactions will make gauging house price trends difficult in the coming months. The medium-term outlook for the housing market is also highly uncertain, where much will depend on the performance of the wider economy.”
Across the UK, prices in Wales increased the most in the first quarter of 2020, with annual price growth picking up to 6.4 per cent.
Earlier this week, Nationwide said it was temporarily pulling its mortgage offering for low-deposit borrowers. Its fixed-rate and tracker mortgages above 75 per cent loan-to-value (LTV) have been withdrawn from sale.