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UK house price growth accelerated in June, defying expectations that the market will cool as consumers face pressure from rampant inflation, figures on Thursday showed.
According to Halifax, UK house prices rose 13% yearly in June, the strongest growth since late 2004, accelerating from an 11% rise in May.
Monthly, prices rose 1.8%, hitting £294,845, another record high. House prices have now risen for 12 months on-the-bounce, Halifax noted. In May, house prices had risen 1.2%.
‘The UK housing market defied any expectations of a slowdown, with average property prices up 1.8% in June, the biggest monthly rise since early 2007. This means house prices have now risen every month over the last year, and are up by 6.8% or £18,849 in cash terms so far in 2022,’ Halifax Managing Director Russell Galley commented.
‘The supply-demand imbalance continues to be the reason house prices are rising so sharply. Demand is still strong though activity levels have slowed to be in line with pre-Covid averages while the stock of available properties for sale remains extremely low.’
Galley noted that so far, it appears property prices have been shielded from cost of living worries.
Galley added: ‘This is partly because, right now, the rise in the cost of living is being felt most by people on lower incomes, who are typically less active in buying and selling houses. In contrast, higher earners are likely to be able to use extra funds saved during the pandemic, with latest industry data showing that mortgage lending has increased by the highest amount since last September.’
Halifax said a housing market slowdown should still be expected, though later than initially anticipated.
Halifax's figures slightly contrast to those reported from mortgage lender Nationwide last week.
Last week Thursday, Nationwide said UK house prices set another record high in June, although growth slowed amid tentative signs of a cooldown in the housing market.
On an annual basis, the Nationwide house price index rose by 10.7% in June, slowing from the 11.2% climb in May. The print also was just shy of the market forecast of 10.8%.
House prices grew 0.3% monthly in June, easing from 0.9% growth in May.
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