House prices begin to dip, but remain high year-on-year

House prices: The average price of a UK home dipped 0.5 per cent in June, according to the latest House Price Index from Halifax.

The statistics, released yesterday (7 July), showed that the average house price was now £260,358 across the UK, having risen 2.9 per cent in the last quarter. Annually, however, house prices have increased by 8.8 per cent.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax, said:

“With the stamp duty holiday now being phased out, it’s was predicted the market might start to lose some steam entering the latter half of the year, and it’s unlikely that those with mortgages approved in the early months of summer expected to benefit from the maximum tax break, given the time needed to complete transactions.”

Galley added:

“That said, with the tapered approach, those purchasing at the current average price of £260,358 would still only pay about £500 in stamp duty at today’s rates, increasing to around £3,000 when things return to normal from the start of October. Government support measures over the last year have helped to boost demand, particularly amongst buyers searching for larger family homes at the upper end of the market. Indeed, the average price of a detached home has risen faster than any other property type over the past 12 months, up by more than 10 per cent or almost £47,000 in cash terms. At a cost of over half a million pounds, they are now £200,000 more expensive than the typical semi-detached house.”

Reacting to the news, Martin Magnone, CEO and co-founder at Tymit, said:

“Whilst house prices have dipped by 0.5 per cent this month, the frenzied housing market shows no signs of slowing down just yet. As a result, it’s not just property prices that have been surging – furnishing budgets are too, and it’s not out of choice. Our research revealed that a third of people rushed their property purchase to take advantage of the Stamp Duty holiday, and two-thirds faced unexpected expenses as a result, with the average furnishing budget blown by almost £15,000.”

He added:

“As demand outstrips supply, the market is moving at a faster rate than ever before and caution, planning and budgeting are being thrown to the wind in order to secure a dream home. Whilst home buyers need to act fast, purchasing a property is a huge decision – 60 per cent of those we surveyed wished they’d taken more time. With this in mind, I’d urge people to plan, plan and plan again to ensure their new home doesn’t welcome them with loans and costly credit cards they hadn’t budgeted for.”

Kindly shared by Property Wire

Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay