| Actual | Previous | |
|---|---|---|
| Month over Month | -0.5% | -0.1% |
| Year over Year | 2.8% | 2.9% |
Highlights
UK house prices dipped by 0.5 percent in Marcha modest fall of £1,575after a flurry of activity earlier in the year driven by buyers rushing to beat the stamp duty deadline. Despite this drop, the annual growth rate held high at 2.8 percent, keeping average property values close to record levels at £296,699.
The slowdown in new applications suggests that demand is settling following a period of exceptional transactions, including the busiest day on record in March. While current market pressures include high borrowing costs, limited housing supply, and economic uncertainty, signs of gradual recovery are emerging.
Anticipated interest rate cuts and sustained wage growth could improve mortgage affordability. As a result, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic, with expectations of a modest uplift in house prices through the year.
The slowdown in new applications suggests that demand is settling following a period of exceptional transactions, including the busiest day on record in March. While current market pressures include high borrowing costs, limited housing supply, and economic uncertainty, signs of gradual recovery are emerging.
Anticipated interest rate cuts and sustained wage growth could improve mortgage affordability. As a result, the outlook remains cautiously optimistic, with expectations of a modest uplift in house prices through the year.
Definition
The Halifax House Price Index (HPI) is the UK's longest running monthly house price measure with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983. The index is based on the largest monthly sample of mortgage data, typically covering around 15,000 house purchases per month, and covers the whole calendar month. In March 2016 Markit announced that it would be acquiring the Halifax HPI from Lloyds Banking Group. Halifax continues to publish the index on behalf of Markit and both the name and the basic methodology remain unchanged. However, in May 2020, the annual growth measure was changed from the average of the last three months to just the latest month.
Description
Home values affect much in the economy - especially the housing and consumer sectors. Periods of rising home values encourage new construction while periods of soft home prices can damp housing starts. Changes in home values play key roles in consumer spending and in consumer financial health. During the first half of this decade sharply rising home prices boosted how much home equity households held. In turn, this increased consumers' ability to spend, based on wealth effects and from being able to draw upon expanding home equity lines of credit.
