Annual house price growth increases to 2.8%

Annual house price growth jumped to 2.8% according to the Halifax House Price Index released today. The Halifax report that house prices in the three months to February were 2.8% higher than in the same three months a year earlier, that is up from the 0.8% annual growth rate recorded in January.

In the latest quarter (December – February) house prices were 1.8% higher than in the preceding three months (September – November) and this brings the average house price now to £236,800.

• +2.8% Annual Change
• +1.8% Quarterly Change
• +5.9% Monthly Change
• £236,800 Average Price

Russell Galley, Managing Director, Halifax, said: “House prices have grown on an annual, quarterly and monthly basis for the first time since October 2018, taking the average price to £236,800. The shortage of houses for sale will certainly be playing a role in supporting prices.

House price growth is now at 1.8%, an increase from the 0.6% fall last month, and back at the rate we saw from July to September 2018. Annual house price growth at 2.8%, is within our expectations, but is fairly subdued compared to 2015 and 2016, when the average growth rate was 8.3%. People are still facing challenges in raising a deposit which means we continue to expect subdued price growth for the time being.”

Russell Galley went on to say “the number of sales in January was right on the five year average and, at over 100,000 for the fifth consecutive month, the overall resilience of the market is still evident”.

UK Home Sales Remain Steady

The Halifax go on to report that monthly UK home sales remain steady with January seeing 101,170 sales which is close to the 5 year average of 101,291. This is the fifth consecutive month, the Halifax say, where over 100,000 homes have been sold.

The Halifax House Price Index is the UK’s longest running monthly house price series with data covering the whole country going back to January 1983.

For further information and to see the full Halifax House Price Index click here.

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