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House Price Begin to Dip, but Remain High Year-on-Year

The average price of a UK home dipped 0.5 per cent in June, according to the latest House Price Index from Halifax.

The statistics, released yesterday, showed that the average house price was now £260,358 across the UK, having risen 2.9 per cent in the last quarter. Annually, however, house prices have increased by 8.8 per cent.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said: “With the stamp duty holiday now being phased out, it’s was predicted the market might start to lose some steam entering the latter half of the year, and it’s unlikely that those with mortgages approved in the early months of summer expected to benefit from the maximum tax break, given the time needed to complete transactions.”

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He added: “That said, with the tapered approach, those purchasing at the current average price of £260,358 would still only pay about £500 in stamp duty at today’s rates, increasing to around £3,000 when things return to normal from the start of October. Government support measures over the last year have helped to boost demand, particularly amongst buyers searching for larger family homes at the upper end of the market. Indeed, the average price of a detached home has risen faster than any other property type over the past 12 months, up by more than 10 per cent or almost £47,000 in cash terms. At a cost of over half a million pounds, they are now £200,000 more expensive than the typical semi-detached house.”

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Reacing to the news, Martin Magnone, CEO and co-founder at Tymit, said: “Whilst house prices have dipped by 0.5 per cent this month, the frenzied housing market shows no signs of slowing down just yet. As a result, it’s not just property prices that have been surging – furnishing budgets are too, and it’s not out of choice. Our research revealed that a third of people rushed their property purchase to take advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday, and two-thirds faced unexpected expenses as a result, with the average furnishing budget blown by almost £15,000.”

He added: “As demand outstrips supply, the market is moving at a faster rate than ever before and caution, planning and budgeting are being thrown to the wind in order to secure a dream home. Whilst home buyers need to act fast, purchasing a property is a huge decision – 60 per cent of those we surveyed wished they’d taken more time. With this in mind, I’d urge people to plan, plan and plan again to ensure their new home doesn’t welcome them with loans and costly credit cards they hadn’t budgeted for.”

BY PETE CARVILL

Source: Property Wire

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Average UK House Price Grows >£2,500 in a Month – Rightmove

The latest House Price Index from Rightmove indicates that the cost of a property coming to the market in the last month rose by £2,509.

Given that the average UK salary per month is a little under £2,000 after tax, this means that in many cases, the average home is earning more per month than the people inside it.

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Commenting on the figures, Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “A 0.8% rise in monthly price rises, whilst slower in pace than in recent months, is still almost 10% annually if such a trend were to continue. That’s colossal growth and even more so at the top end of the market where homes are seeing over 12% rises in value despite the fact they may soon miss out on the maximum stamp duty holiday saving of £15,000. This bodes well and may confound the doomsayers that have been forecasting a cliff edge come the end of June.”

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Others were more critical. Matthew Cooper, managing director of Yes Homebuyers, said: “Property stock is evaporating at an alarming rate due to huge levels of buyer demand and this severe imbalance is causing an artificial property price boom. Great for sellers who can justify overpricing their home but not so great for the wider market that is already groaning under the pressure.”

BY PETE CARVILL

Source: Property Wire

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Average UK House Price Falls for First Time in Months

The average UK house price 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, released yesterday, 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.

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Nick Barnes, head of research at Chesterton’s, said that this would have a snowball effect in the coming months.

He added: “As a result, we will continue to see strong demand from property buyers in an already competitive market.”

Others, including Paul Stockwell, chief commercial officer of Gatehouse Bank, said that the annual growth in prices was ‘still remarkable’.

He added: “There remains a shortage of properties coming onto the market in many areas, resulting in intense competition in some cases, and this factor is likely to keep prices pushing upwards throughout the summer.”

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Others took up the theme of the UK’s housing shortage.

Andy Sommerville, director of Search Acumen, said: ““Our national housing supply squeeze looks set to continue for the foreseeable future, pushing up prices further still. The beneficiaries on the building side are the developers of homes with access to gardens, given that working from home and more flexible working practices are likely to continue in the coming months, driving people to move into bigger homes with access to green space.”

BY PETE CARVILL

Source: Property Wire

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Average UK house price hit new record high in February

The average UK house price hit a new record high of £231,068 in February, according to an index.

Property values climbed by 6.9% annually, up from 6.4% in January, in what the Nationwide Building Society House Price Index described as a “surprise” acceleration.

A stamp duty holiday is due to end on March 31, but there have been reports that it could possibly be extended for another three months.

Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, said: “February saw the annual rate of house price growth rebound to 6.9%, from 6.4% in January. House prices rose by 0.7% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal effects, more than reversing the 0.2% monthly decline recorded in January.

“This increase is a surprise. It seemed more likely that annual price growth would soften further ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday, which prompted many people considering a house move to bring forward their purchase.”

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Mr Gardner added: “Many people’s housing needs have changed as a direct result of the pandemic, with many opting to move to less densely populated locations or property types, despite the sharp economic slowdown and the uncertain outlook.”

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser to the EY ITEM Club said house prices are predicted to fall by around 3% over 2021.

He said: “This had been revised from an expected decline of 5% given the housing market measures expected in the Budget.

“The EY ITEM Club expects housing market activity to gradually improve late on in 2021 allowing prices to stabilise as the UK’s economy establishes a sustained firmer footing and the labour market comes off its lows.

“Very low borrowing costs should also help with the Bank of England unlikely to lift interest rates from 0.10% during 2021 and for some time thereafter.”

Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “An increase in house prices in February further confirms that even though the stamp duty holiday was earmarked to end shortly, buyer demand and desire for more space – both inside and out – outweighs any potential saving.”

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Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “Price growth strengthened in February due to a relative imbalance between supply and demand.

“While it is a relatively straightforward process to register as a buyer, sellers have held back, which has led to a shortage of supply that has put upwards pressure on prices.

“Sellers who are home-schooling or simply concerned about opening their home to viewings due to new Covid variants have hesitated in the first two months of the year.

“With the return of schools and Covid cases falling, more sellers are now gearing up to list their property, which will put downwards pressure on prices from this month.

“Any extension of the stamp duty holiday in the Budget will exacerbate this trend as more owners believe they will be able to complete before the end of June. While we expect downwards pressure in the second quarter of the year, we expect flat prices over the course of 2021 as more seasonality and balance between supply and demand returns from the summer.”

Source: Express & Star

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