UK House Prices Continue Upward Trend
UK house prices continued their upward trend for the sixth consecutive month in February, despite signs of a sluggish economy. Economists attribute part of the rise to buyers rushing to complete purchases before April’s stamp duty changes.
According to Nationwide, Britain’s largest building society, the average house price increased by 0.4% in February, up from 0.1% in January, reaching £270,493. This marked a 3.9% annual rise, slightly down from January’s 4.1% growth rate.
Housing market activity has steadily gained momentum following a decline between mid-2023 and spring 2024. Nationwide’s house price index, an early market indicator, shows continued price acceleration ahead of data releases from Halifax and the Land Registry. However, growth remains well below the double-digit rates seen in 2022 during the post-pandemic boom.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, highlighted the market’s resilience despite affordability challenges, noting a significant rise in total housing transactions in late 2024. Nevertheless, transactions for the year remained 6% below pre-pandemic 2019 levels.
Resilience in the housing market amid economic uncertainty and upcoming stamp duty changes.
Additionally, leading economists suggest that some of the increase stemmed from buyers fast-tracking purchases to avoid higher stamp duty. Still, the data indicates that the housing market is weathering both economic weakness and rising mortgage rates.
Stamp duty reductions introduced by Liz Truss’s government will expire on 1 April in England and Northern Ireland, reducing tax-free thresholds for first-time buyers and all housing transactions. Gardner expects these changes to cause short-term volatility, with a surge in transactions before April, followed by a dip in the subsequent months.
Meanwhile, data from Rightmove, the UK’s largest property website, underscores strong buyer interest. Britons spent 16.4 billion minutes on the platform in 2024, a 6% increase from the previous year. The company, one of the UK’s most-visited websites, reported a 7% rise in sales to £390 million, though profits remained flat.
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are based on industry reports and related news stories and are for informational purposes only . SSIL does not guarantee the accuracy, legality, completeness, reliability of the information and or for that of subsequent links and shall not be held responsible for any action taken based on the published information.