House prices rose by 0.8 per cent in July following three relatively flat months indicating “the housing market may finally be bouncing back”.
Halifax’s latest House Price Index found prices increased over July, rising by 0.8 per cent on a monthly basis and 2.3 per cent on an annual basis.
The average UK home now costs £291,268, an increase of over £2,200 compared to the previous months.
Halifax head of mortgages, Amanda Bryden, said: “Last week’s Bank of England’s base cut, which follows recent reductions in mortgage rates, is encouraging for those looking to remortgage, purchase a first home, or move along the housing ladder.
“However, affordability constraints and the lack of available properties continue to pose challenges for prospective homeowners.
“Against the backdrop of lower mortgage rates and potential further Base Rate reductions, we anticipate house prices to continue a modest upward trend throughout the remainder of this year.”
Additionally, Finder.com money expert, Liz Edwards, said: "Today’s figures indicate that the housing market may finally be bouncing back.”
Edwards attributed this to the recent Bank of England base rut cut and lending rates beginning to come down on a more “permanent” basis than seen previously which indicates the market “may be stabilising”.
“Millions of households who are due to renew their fixed mortgages this year will be glad to see the threat of potentially crippling mortgage repayments finally beginning to subside,” she added.
“If we can continue on this trajectory, buyer confidence may start to stoke the market.”
Halifax detailed there was a regional disparity in house prices with Northern Ireland continuing to record the strongest property price growth of any nation or region in the UK, rising by 5.8 per cent on an annual basis in July.
This represents an increase from the rise of 4.1 per cent that was recorded in the previous month and the highest increase since February 2023.
As a result, the average price of a property in Northern Ireland is now £195,681.
Additionally, house prices in the North West also also recorded strong growth, up 4.1 per cent compared to the previous month, with properties in the area now costing, on average, £232,489.
Meanwhile, in Wales, house prices grew by 3.4 per cent to £221,102, the highest price seen since October 2022.
The only region or nation to record a fall across the UK was Eastern England as properties in that area cost an average £330,282, a fall of 0.4 per cent on an annual basis.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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