Post-lockdown demand drives home prices rise

THE stamp duty holiday and pent-up demand are pushing house prices to an all-time high, new figures reveal.

The average cost of a home in the UK jumped 1.6 per cent in July alone to £241,604, according to data from Halifax. That pushed the annual rate of gain to 3.8 per cent, after four months of falling prices.

Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said the market was in the throes of a “surprising spike” driven by a wave of demand since the end of the lockdown.

It has been fuelled by Chancellor Rishi Sunak’s decision early last month to waive stamp duty on the first £500,000 of any transaction until March, saving buyers up to £15,000 in tax.

The Halifax figures came as property portal Rightmove said it has seen record levels of traffic to its website since agents were allowed to reopen. It said: “Since 13 May we have recorded 65 days beating Rightmove’s previous traffic record set on 19 February 2020. Between 1 June and 31 July demand for sales properties has been 50 per cent higher than the same period in 2019 with rental demand being over 20 per cent higher.”

Halifax managing director Russell Galley said: “As pent-up demand from the period of lockdown is released into a largely open housing market, a low supply of available homes is helping to exert upwards pressure on house prices.

“Supported by the Government’s initiative of a significant cut in stamp duty, and evidence from households and agents suggesting that confidence is currently growing, the immediate future for the housing market looks brighter than many might have expected three months ago.”

⬤ Regulator Ofgem today said it will slash annual energy bills for about 15 million households by as much as £95 as it cuts the price cap to the lowest level yet. The cap has been set at £1,042 per year for an average household and will come into force from October 1, Ofgem said, down £84 drop for customers on their supplier’s standard tariff and a £95 drop for those with prepayment meters. The cap limits what suppliers can charge and will remain in place for six months.