The latest Nationwide House Price report said that house prices saw a monthly rise of 0.3% in July. 

The average price of a home grew to £266,334, slightly up from £266,064 in June.

The annual growth rate picked up to 2.1%, from 1.5% the month prior.

This figure marked the fastest pace of growth for the housing market since December 2022.

Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said: “UK house prices increased by 0.3% month on month in July, after taking account of seasonal effects.

“This resulted in a slight pickup in the annual rate of house price growth from 1.5% in June, to 2.1% in July – the fastest pace since December 2022.

“However, prices are still around 2.8% below the all-time highs recorded in the summer of 2022.

The latest Halifax Report said that prices increased by 0.8% in July following three relatively flat months.

The index also found that the annual growth rate reached 2.3%, the highest since January 2024

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, said:  “Last week’s Bank of England Base Rate 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.

However, the latest Rightmove Report, which focuses on asking prices, said that The average price of property coming to market has fallen by 0.4% to £373,493 in July

Tim Bannister director of property science at Rightmove, highlighted the major uncertainties affecting the property market.

The drop exceeds the 20-year July average of -0.2%, as sellers seek to attract buyers with more competitive prices amid the summer holidays and the Olympics.

Despite recent events such as the general election and the Euro football tournament, homemovers have maintained overall stability, with prices 0.4% higher than a year ago

“We’ve now got the political certainty of a new government with a large majority, which we expect will help home-mover confidence,” 

The latest Hometrack Report, which breaks prices down into regions, said that annual house prices have increased by +0.1%.

Richard Donnell, Executive Director of research said –

“The outlook for the housing market continues to improve with more sales and buyers paying a greater proportion of the asking price. The first base rate cut will boost market sentiment and market activity over H2”

Our Thoughts

Headline House Prices have remained resilient over the last 12-18 months. Of course this doesn’t consider value in real terms when taking into account inflation, but is still encouraging when considering market conditions and is a key driver for sentiment.

One of the challenges has been mortgage affordability as people adjust to rates which have increased from historic lows. However, with the Bank of England Base Rate reducing and some mortgage rates being available from less than 4%, this could have a positive impact on house prices moving forward. This would obviously be good news for homeowners, but a potential challenge for some people who are looking to buy.