UK house prices stagnated in June, Halifax index finds
UK house prices were stagnant in June with average prices flatlining at £296,665, according to the latest Halifax data.
Despite a 0.3 per cent drop from April to May, the average UK house price was still 2.5 per cent higher than it was in June of last year.
Properties in London saw a rise of 0.6 per cent in June with the average house in the capital costing £540,048 – a 2.8 per cent increase from last year.
The data underlined the subdued state of Britain’s housing market following an increase in tax on property transactions that took effect in April.
On the 1st April, the threshold for property transactions without stamp duty was reduced from £250,000 to £125,000, introducing a 2 per cent tax rate up to £250,000.
Halifax’s Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden said: “The market’s resilience continues to stand out after a brief slowdown following the spring stamp duty changes – mortgage approvals and property transactions have both picked up, and more buyers have returned to the market.”
First time buyers return, says Halifax
Halifax said lenders have taken a more flexible approach in response to new regulatory guidance, having helped 3,000 additional buyers in the last two months who would not have previously qualified for a mortgage.
As many as 1,000 of those acquiring properties were first-time buyers, indicating a normalising in the number of first time buyers to the levels before the recent stamp duty change, despite newly drawn mortgage rates being at their lowest since June 2023.
Garrington Property Finders’ managing director Nicholas Finn claimed that the number of homes entering the market far exceeds the number of potential buyers which has kept price increases low.
He said: “The imbalance is greatest in southern England, but is no longer limited to the capital and its commuter belt with a large number of second homes and holiday let properties being sold by their disenchanted owners.
“The net effect has been to turn the south in a buyer’s market.”
Finn added: “Cheaper borrowing costs make buying a home more affordable, and coupled with flat or falling prices, this is likely to draw more buyers out of the woodwork in the second half of the year.”