House prices soar £3,000
THE average UK house price went up by more than £3,000 in April, according to the Halifax.
But growth is set to slow as the costof-living crisis hits home.
The lender said prices rose 1.1 per cent – or £3,078 – last month.
That means an annual rise of 10.8 per cent, taking the average house value to a record £286,079.
It was the tenth month in a row that prices increased and marked the longest run of increases for six years.
Headwinds
At the current rate of growth, the price of a typical home could hit £300,000 by the end of the year.
But Halifax said that is unlikely as inflation and higher interest rates impact the market.
Inflation is expected to hit 10 per cent-plus in the coming months and the Bank of England raised the interest base rate to 1 per cent this week, pushing up costs for some borrowers.
Russell Galley, Halifax managing director, warned: “The headwinds facing the wider economy cannot be ignored.With interest rates on the rise and inflation further squeezing household budgets, it remains likely that the
rate of house price growth will slow by the end of this year.”
He added: “The imbalance between supply and demand persists, with an insufficient number of new properties coming on to the market.”
Demand is for larger family homes rather than small properties, he said.
Over the past year, prices for detached and semi-detached properties
have risen by over 12 per cent, compared to just 7.1 per cent for flats.
Across the UK, Northern Ireland is the strongest performer for annual house price growth, at 14.9 per cent.
Average house prices in Wales and Scotland hit new records in April, at £214,396 and £196,471 respectively.
Six out of nine English regions recorded double-digit annual house price inflation during April. The South West broke through the £300,000 barrier for the first time, to reach £301,632.
London continues to lag the rest of the UK, at 6.2 per cent, although average property values remain much higher than the rest of the UK, with the latest average price of £537,896 also new record for the capital.