Halifax’s latest house price index for March is in, reporting another new record in average house price at £282,753. The biggest monthly increase for six months.
- Two years on from the first lockdown, house prices have now risen by £43,577
- South West overtakes Wales as UK area with strongest house price inflation
- Cost of living pressure likely to slow the rate of house price growth this year
Oli Bland, Head of Lending at Black & White Bridging commented:
“UK house price growth rates of 1.4% per month or 16.8% per annum mean that as an asset, capital growth in real estate is currently outperforming global financial assets. Such rates are very attractive to the investor market, which may be where part of the buoyancy is coming from, however this could be the peak as first time buyers could be put off by such high barriers to entry. As such, this is either the continuation of growth we have been witness to since the great recession, or it is the hyperbolic stage indicative of a late-stage asset bubble. Only time will tell!”
Regions and nations.
The South West of England has overtaken Wales as the UK’s strongest performer in terms of annual price house inflation, now up to 14.6%, its highest rate of annual increase since September 2004. The average house price is now £298,162, a record for the region.
While this is the first time since January 2021 that Wales has not recorded the UK’s highest annual growth, house price inflation remains extremely strong, at 14.1%. The average house price is £211,942 which is yet another all-time high for the country.
Property prices in Northern Ireland also continue to be on the rise, with annual growth now at 13%, and an average price of £177,265.
Though house prices also edged up once more in Scotland – reaching a new record of £194,621 – the rate of annual growth continues to slow somewhat, falling to 8.2% from 9.3% last month.
Elsewhere, the South East also recorded a big increase, with house price growth at 11.6% and an average price of £385,790. Prices in the region have now risen by £40,177 over the last year, the first time any English region outside of London has ever posted a £40,000-plus rise over just 12 months.
London itself continued its recent upward trend, with prices now up by 5.9% year-on-year, with an average price of £534,977.
information is taken from the Halifax House Price Index. A full copy of which can be found here.
