House costs at recent document excessive, says Halifax | EUROtoday

UK home costs have hit one other document excessive with the typical property value reaching £299,138, Halifax has stated.

The UK’s largest mortgage lender, a part of Lloyds Banking Group, stated property values recovered in January after seeing a slight dip in December.

The annual progress in costs slowed to three.0%, which is the weakest price since July 2023, however Halifax stated the market was exhibiting “noteworthy” resilience.

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, stated there was “strong demand for new mortgages and growth in lending”, which could be being pushed by first-time consumers making an attempt to finish offers earlier than a rise in stamp obligation in April.

In the Budget in October final yr, Chancellor Rachel Reeves stated that diminished stamp obligation charges in England and Northern Ireland would finish in April subsequent yr.

The modifications will imply that home consumers will begin paying stamp obligation on properties over £125,000, as a substitute of over £250,000 in the intervening time.

First-time consumers presently pay no stamp obligation on houses as much as £425,000, however this may drop to £300,000 in April.

Jonathan Hopper, chief govt of Garrington Property Finders, stated: “The traditional January bounce didn’t disappoint. After several property portals reported record Boxing Day traffic and a surprise jump in the number of mortgages approved in December, business was brisk in much of the property market last month.”

However, he thinks the recorded leap in costs at a nationwide stage is “deceptive”.

“Look more closely at the data and it becomes clear that accelerating price growth is far from universal – in fact it slowed in two-thirds of the UK’s nations and regions,” he stated.

London stays the costliest place within the UK to purchase a home, with the typical property there costing £548,288, up 2.8% from a yr earlier.

Properties in Northern Ireland noticed the strongest annual value rise of 5.9%, with a median property now at £205,473.

House costs in Wales rose 3.6% in comparison with final yr, with property values averaging £227,397.

In England, the North East changed the North West because the area with the strongest annual value progress, with values growing by 5.2% to £178,696.

Scotland noticed a decrease rise in home costs general, up 2.4%, with properties now costing a median of £210,690.

Halifax’s home value knowledge relies by itself mortgage lending, which doesn’t embody consumers who buy houses with money, or buy-to-let offers. Cash consumers account for a couple of third of housing gross sales.