November marked the fifth consecutive monthly UK house price rise and the biggest leap so far this year, according to Halifax. The mortgage lender said property values were up 1.3% compared with October.
November marked the fifth consecutive monthly UK house price rise and the biggest leap so far this year, according to Halifax. The mortgage lender said property values were up 1.3% compared with October, with the average price hitting a new record high of £298,083. On an annual basis, house prices have now seen the fastest growth for the past two years.
"Property values were up 1.3% compared with October, with the average price hitting a new record high of £298,083"
“Latest figures continue to show improving levels of demand for mortgages, as an easing in mortgage rates boost buyer confidence,” said Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages at Halifax.
The past five years have seen a pandemic, a cost-of-living crisis and a mortgage market meltdown – prices might have been expected to stagnate or even fall quite dramatically. Yet again and again, the UK housing market has defied the odds and is now up 25% since 2019. This is partly a result of buyers being bolstered by inherited or gifted money, particularly in very wealthy parts of the country like London. Anthony Codling, a property analyst at RBC Capital Markets, said: “The year 1971 was when we reached 50% homeownership in this country… We’re now at the time when that first wave of mass affluence is being passed on.” Recent changes to inheritance tax on pensions, announced by the Chancellor in October, might mean the ‘bank of mum and dad’ becomes even more generous over the next few years.
It’s also notable that buyers have simply changed their behaviour to absorb the extra costs of higher mortgage rates, by allocating more of their monthly income to mortgage repayments and by stretching mortgage terms – figures from the trade body UK Finance show the current average length of new loans to first-time buyers is 31 years.
All the data points to the incredible resilience of the UK housing market. The constrained supply of property, coupled with sky high rents, means that many people will stop at nothing to get that first toe on the housing ladder. We would expect to see average house prices breach the £300,000 mark early next year as mortgage rates continue to ease off.
November marked the fifth consecutive monthly UK house price rise and the biggest leap so far this year, according to Halifax. The mortgage lender said property values were up 1.3% compared with October.
We expect positive price growth this year – in a climate of falling mortgage rates, improving affordability and the release of some pent-up demand. Rightmove reported that first-time buyer demand in the capital in September 2024 was 28% ahead of 2023, moving up to 31% after the autumn budget.
International property company JLL has said it expects Greater London house prices to increase by 22% over the next 5-years, beating nationwide UK growth predictions of 20% over the same time span. The firm added that within those headline figures, it expected lower value markets to see stronger growth towards the beginning of the period, with more expensive markets like London and the South East outperforming in the second half.