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House prices rise to 17-year high in June
House prices rose by 13.2 per cent in the year to June, the highest annual growth rate the UK has seen in 17 years.
The rapid growth has pushed the average house price up to a record high of £266,000, £31,000 higher than this time last year, according to the Office of National Statistics.
In May, annual house price inflation stood at 9.8 per cent.
Wales led the charge with 16.7 per cent annual growth driving house prices up to £195,000. England and Scotland saw 13.3 per cent and 12 per cent growth respectively, leaving average house prices standing at £284,000 and £174,000. Northern Irish house prices rose nine per cent to £153,000.
Despite recording the lowest annual growth for the seventh month in a row, London’s 6.3 per cent annual rise drove the average house price in the Capital up to £510,000. The North West saw the highest annual growth at 18.6 per cent increasing average house prices to just over £200,000.
Conor Murphy, chief executive of mortgage platform, Smartr365, said: “Today’s findings are to be celebrated and we hope that house prices will continue to grow in the coming months. Market momentum remains strong and I’m confident that the availability and pricing of credit will ensure the market retains its buoyancy post-September.”
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Andy Sommerville, director at Search Acumen, said: “The tapering of the stamp duty holiday since June has finally started to cool down a market that has been red hot since last summer.
“Sellers may have to reconsider their pricing while some buyers who were prepared to stretch their finances might not be in a position to do so now they are facing a larger tax bill.
“However, we expect only a brief summer interlude before house prices start to grow again in the autumn. Demand is still extremely high by historic standards, fuelled by record low interest rates and people’s attempts to adapt their lives to key societal changes, such as home working, which are set to become a more permanent feature of the post-pandemic world. At the same time, the market is still characterised by a chronic undersupply of available housing stock. These two factors are likely to sustain house price growth later this year.”