According to the Office for National Statistics (ONS), this was a 6.4% growth on last year.
Richard Harrison, head of mortgages at Atom Bank, said: “The stamp duty deadline has clearly played a big role in the heightened level of house price growth we have seen in recent months.
“House buyers understandably were likely desperate to get deals completed before the end of the stamp duty holiday, with Propertymark noting a sharp jump in the number of prospective buyers registering with estate agents. Vendors have been able to take advantage, and maximise the sale price.”
Will there be a post-stamp duty decline?
Harrison added: “It would be a mistake to assume that the stamp duty regime returning to its previous levels will result in a drop in house prices, however. Lenders have been incredibly active in reducing rates, even before last week’s base rate reduction, with Moneyfacts data showing that the average two-year fixed rate is now at its lowest level since September 2022, before the mini Budget.
“The ingredients are there for further house price growth this year and beyond, with the risk of freezing out whole groups of aspiring homeowners, such as those with modest deposits or imperfect credit ratings. It’s crucial that lenders ensure these buyers have access to the funding they need to make homeownership achievable, rather than simply a pipe dream.”
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Emma Cox, managing director of real estate at Shawbrook, said the question was not whether activity would be sustained in the coming months.
“Whilst spring and summer are generally strong seasons for the housing market, wider economic concerns may give buyers cause to pause on transactions until market conditions improve,” she added.
Regional house price changes
In England, house prices rose by 1.3% to an average of £296,000. This also represented a 6.7% year-on-year increase.
The largest rise in house prices was recorded in the North East, where values jumped 4.3% monthly and 14.3% annually to an average of £168,000.
This was followed by the North West, where house prices were £217,000 on average after a 2.5% monthly uptick and a 9.4% yearly increase. Meanwhile, house prices in Yorkshire and the Humber rose 2% from February to March, coming to £211,000. On a yearly basis, this was a 9.5% increase.
London was the only part of England to record a monthly fall in house prices, dropping 0.3% to £552,000. The capital also had the smallest yearly growth, at 0.8%.
House prices in Wales fell by 0.2% since February to £208,000. The nation recorded a 3.6% annual increase.
Scotland recorded a 0.4% monthly uplift and a 4.6% yearly rise in house prices to £186,000. In Northern Ireland, house prices rose by 9.5% in the year to Q1, totalling £185,000.
Small fall in new-build property prices
New-build homes fell by 0.7% in value on a monthly basis to £381,055 in March, while existing resold homes recorded a 0.2% increase to £261,959.
Compared to the same month last year, new-build homes were 17.1% higher in value and resold homes just 3.7%.
First-time buyers paid an average of £230,857 for their properties, 1.7% more than the month before and 7.1% higher than a year earlier.
Former owner-occupiers saw just a 0.4% monthly change in the average price paid for their homes, at £331,844, which was also a 5.4% yearly increase.
This article was first published on YourMoney.com‘s sister site, Mortgage Solutions. Read: House prices jump to £271k in run-up to stamp duty deadline – ONS
