UK house prices rise in April after seven consecutive falls
Cornerstone Tax: Chairman David Hannah discusses the news that UK house prices rise in April after seven consecutive falls.
A recent report from Nationwide has found that the average house prices rose 0.5% last month following seven consecutive falls from September.
In light of this news, property expert and Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, David Hannah, gives his thoughts on why house prices have risen in April and why he remains confident in the market.
The 0.5% rise means the average price has increased to £260,441, up from £257,122 in March. This has lifted the annual rate of house price growth to -2.7%, from -3.1% in March (the biggest fall since 2009), marking a return to composure in the market following the chaos of last autumn’s mini-budget.
Hannah believes that the increase in house prices for April is a sign that the property market’s re-adjustment period may be ending as new mortgage rates begin to fall, which has resulted in a wave of buyers returning to the market.
In line with the findings from Nationwide, Zoopla reported at the start of April that there was a greater supply of houses on the market, 65% more than a year ago, as the average estate agent has 25 homes for sale compared to 14 in 2022. Zoopla reported that the number of new sales agreed had risen 11% compared to 2019.
Despite the calls from forecasters for the market to crash by 20% this year, it remains resilient, which Hannah believes is a testament to its historical stability.
David Hannah, Group Chairman of Cornerstone Tax, explains:
“The UK is going through a re-adjustment period regarding property prices and is slowly adapting to the new rates of mortgages.
“However, we are already beginning to see a fall in fixed rate mortgages, which has resulted in a wave of buyers returning to the property market.
“It is also crucial to remember that we must look at the bigger picture when assessing the state of the property market, not just the most recent developments – look how quickly the narrative has changed compared to the start of Q1.
“The UK property market has tended to be more stable than any other global market in the world. I expect to see low to mid to single-digit growth throughout the rest of this year despite the common narrative regarding falls or even a crash.
“Despite the negative predictions currently, there is an underlying pressure on the market which is leading to upward pressure on prices.”
Kindly shared by Cornerstone Tax
Main article photo courtesy of Pixabay
