Average UK House Price Falls For First Time In Months

The average price of a UK home fell 1.9 per cent between March and April but was still 8.9 per cent higher than it was in April 2020, according to HM Land Registry’s latest House Price Index. The index showed the average price of a property in April 2021 was £250,772, down from £255,707 the month before. Since at least May 2020, average house prices within the UK have increased incrementally. The increase in mortgage lending throughout March, itself boosted by the Stamp Duty holiday, to £35.6bn was thought to have boosted April’s sales, even though the average price fell. Read more on the Property Wire website.

https://www.propertywire.com/news/average-uk-house-price-falls-for-first-time-in-months/

Housing Demand Fuels January Price Rise

The latest figures from Rightmove have pointed to a cautiously optimistic market as average asking prices rose by 0.8% in January. According to the portal, the number of monthly visits to the site hit its highest ever level in January, at over 141 million. Rightmove revealed that all regions bar one have seen the price of newly-marketed property increase this month, with the South West being a very marginal exception with a fall of £131. However, the annual rate of increase remains subdued at just 1.5%, dragged down to a degree by London’s year-on-year fall of 1.0%. Download the Index from the Rightmove website.

http://www.rightmove.co.uk/news/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/Rightmove-House-Price-Index-19th-Feb-2018.pdf

House Prices Fall Month-On-Month

Annual house price growth in the UK softened to 3.5% in March with prices falling 0.3% month-on-month, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index. The reversal in momentum has been described as a “wake up call” by Jonathan Hopper, managing director of Garrington Property Finders. “It’s nearly two years since the month-on-month number was last in negative territory. But now, as then, the surprise fall in house prices was symptomatic of a listless market rather than a profound shift,” he said. “So it would be overly melodramatic to view the Nationwide’s latest data as a turning point. In reality, average house prices have been meandering for several months against the volatile and uncertain economic backdrop. Read more on Housing Excellence.

House Prices In England And Wales Finished 2016 On A High

House prices in England and Wales finished 2016 on a high according to the latest House Price Index from LSL Property Services and Acadata. Average prices were up 0.4% (£1,139) in December at £297,678, having almost fully recovered from the March 2016 peak ahead of the introduction of the stamp duty surcharge on second homes and buy-to-let properties. December saw some of the strongest monthly growth since the beginning of the year however, annual growth slowed slightly to 3.1% in December from 3.5% in November. Strong performance in cheaper properties across the country saw every region in England and Wales finish the year with positive house price inflation. Download the figures from the LSL website.

House Price Growth Eases Back In November

Annual house price growth slowed in November, according to the latest House Price Index from Nationwide. In October, growth was at 4.6% but it eased back to 4.4% in November. House prices increased by 0.1% month on month in November, with the average house price put at £204,947, down from October’s average of £205,904. “UK house prices increased by 0.1% in November, after taking account of seasonal factors,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist. “As a result, the annual rate of house price growth slowed slightly to 4.4%, from 4.6% in October, though this is still in line with the growth rates prevailing since early 2015. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

Average UK House Price Rises £17K In Year

The average house has continued to become more expensive, as the latest UK House Price Index (HPI) revealed average prices rose 8.4% in the year to August 2016. This was up from 8% in the year to July 2016 and continues the “strong growth seen since the since the end of 2013”, but referred to as representing relative stability. However, it will doubtless be a source of dismay all the same for hard-pressed first-timers looking to get a toehold on the property ladder. In hard-cash terms, the price of an average UK home had risen by £17,000 in the year to August 2016, and was £3,000 higher than the previous month, bringing the average price to £219,000 in August. Read more on Housing Excellence.

Report Shows Housing Continues To Become More Expensive

Annual house price growth slowed slightly in May, according to the latest Nationwide House Price Index (HPI), while monthly changes remained broadly stable, but this could prove to be just a lull in rising prices. The annual price for May 2016 was 4.7%, down slightly on April’s annual figure of 4.9%. The monthly figure for May remained unchanged from April at 0.2% price growth. According to the Nationwide’s HPI, the average price of a UK home (not seasonally adjusted) came to £204,368 in May compared to April’s average of £202,436. The annual pace of house price growth remains in the fairly narrow range between 3% and 5% that has been prevailing for much of the past twelve months. Download the report form the Nationwide website.

Buy-To-Let’s “Last Hurrah” Blamed For Annual House Price Rise

Double digit growth in house prices over the last year has been blamed on the “last hurrah” of buy-to-let investors as they seek to head off the rise in stamp duty. The latest House Price Index revealed that prices were 10.1% higher in the three months to March 2016 than they were in the same period of 2015. For the period January to March 2016, meanwhile, prices were 2.9% higher than in the preceding three months. “No-one should confuse the return of double-digit annual price growth with universal rude health in the property market,” said Nicholas Finn, executive director of buying agents, Garrington Property Finders.  “There’s every chance that these strong March figures represent the last hurrah of Britain’s army of buy-to-let landlords.” Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

UK House Price Growth Edges Up, Investors Rush For Buy-To-Let

Investors are trying to beat a tax increase on buy-to-let properties in Britain, helping to push up house prices last month, according to a survey. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) said its monthly house price balance rose to +50 from +49 in November, in line with a Reuters poll of economists. Overall demand for new properties rose to a three-month high after the announcement that a higher rate of real estate purchase tax would be introduced in April for investors seeking to buy properties in order to rent them out. Read more on the Reuters website.

Second-Home Buyers Face Stamp Duty Hike Of 500%

One in ten of all UK property purchases will be affected by changes in stamp duty charges from April 1st 2016 according to a consultation paper issued by the government. The consultation paper makes clear that the proposed stamp duty charge is an additional 3% on the whole of the purchase price. So, for example under the current rules, stamp duty on a second property costing £200,000 is £1,500. From 1 April 2016 this will rise to £7,500 – a 500% hike. According to the House Price Index the average price of a UK property in November 2015 was £186,325 and house prices look to be on the increase in many areas.  The draft rules are very tightly drawn so that the additional rate applies if ‘at the end of the day of the transaction’ an individual owns more than one property. Download the consultation from the Gov UK website.

Over A Million Renters Priced Out Of Home Ownership in Coalition Years

1.26 million private renters have been priced out of home ownership since the coalition government came into power in 2010, campaign group PricedOut has claimed. 3.8 million private renters are unable to afford the average first home, according to the latest PricedOut Index. The research analyses the HMRC’s percentile breakdown of UK taxpayer incomes, the English Housing Survey’s income profile of private renters, and the ONS’ latest House Price Index to work out how many people could afford the average first home, based on the assumption that a home is affordable if it is no more than four times household income. According to its analysis, a household would require an income of £51,250 to afford the average first home of £205,000, but HMRC figures show that 69% of dual income households earn less than this – the equivalent of 3.76 million private renters who pay income tax. Read more on the Housing Excellence website.

The Cost of a First Time Home Keeps Rising

The latest House Price Index shows how first time buyers are being screwed over by the market.  The average cost of a first time home now stands at over £400,000 in London, with house price inflation at nearly 13%. So, at the end of 5 years of saving for your deposit with the Help to Buy ISA that was the Chancellor’s offer to first time buyers, the average cost of a first time home will be over the £450,000 threshold. With rents also on the rise there is even less chance of saving for a deposit.  Read more on the Generation Rent website.