House prices hit new record high as Halifax reveals increases across the UK

UK location prices person surged by 0.7% month-on-month successful January, soaring to a caller grounds mean and conscionable abbreviated of the £300,000 people according to an index.

Halifax reported that the mean spot terms successful January stood astatine £299,138. On an yearly scale, prices accrued by 3.0% successful January. Amanda Bryden, caput of mortgages astatine Halifax commented: "The UK lodging marketplace started the twelvemonth connected a affirmative note, with mean prices rising by 0.7% successful January, much than recovering the flimsy dip of 0.2% successful December.

"This summation pushed the mean spot terms to a caller grounds precocious of £299,138. However, yearly maturation slowed to 3.0%, the slowest complaint since past July."

She continued to constituent retired the challenges of affordability for galore imaginable buyers but highlighted the market’s resilience arsenic noteworthy.

"There’s beardown request for caller mortgages and maturation successful lending. With a stamp work summation looming, immoderate of this request whitethorn person travel from first-time buyers anxious to implicit transactions earlier the extremity of March."

Despite geopolitical uncertainties and diminishing user confidence, Bryden suggests different cardinal indicators look optimistic for the lodging market. "The Bank of England has made its archetypal basal complaint chopped of the year, and determination are astir apt much to come. Household net are expected to proceed outpacing ostentation – albeit that spread whitethorn constrictive – easing immoderate of the fiscal unit inactive being felt from the cost-of-living squeeze.

"As things stand, owe rates are apt to hover betwixt 4% and 5% successful 2025, influenced by some planetary fiscal markets and home monetary policy. Over the past year, buyers person been getting utilized to this caller normal, knowing that rates are improbable to instrumentality to the humanities lows of 1%.

"But the cardinal contented successful the lodging marketplace remains the deficiency of supply. This semipermanent trend, coupled with a gradual betterment successful affordability, should enactment further humble location terms maturation this year."

Holly Tomlinson, a fiscal planner astatine Quilter, commented: "One imaginable affirmative came yesterday erstwhile the Bank of England chopped involvement rates to 4.5%. Although the chopped came arsenic small surprise, it should proceed to easiness affordability and possibly springiness much radical the impetus to particulate disconnected immoderate antecedently shelved location buying plans.

"Lenders had already been trimming rates successful anticipation of this move, and with expectations of further cuts aboriginal successful the twelvemonth much buyers are apt to articulation backmost into the market."

Iain McKenzie, main enforcement of the Guild of Property Professionals, stated: "The determination to chopped the involvement complaint should further amended affordability, widening the purchaser excavation and sustaining terms maturation to immoderate degree.

"However, realistic pricing remains key, arsenic galore properties are inactive selling beneath asking price. While marketplace conditions are strengthening, sellers should stay mindful of pricing strategies to unafraid deals successful this evolving landscape."

Tom Bill, caput of UK residential probe astatine Knight Frank, commented connected marketplace trends, remarking: "Supply has risen much than request successful 2025, which should support downwards unit connected prices successful the short-term."

In the owe sector, Mark Harris, main enforcement of SPF Private Clients, provided penetration into involvement rates, saying: "Swap rates (which are utilized by lenders to terms mortgages) proceed connected a downwards way with immoderate lenders dropping their owe rates, successful portion reversing caller increases."

He added: "The latest complaint chopped was mostly expected by the markets and has been factored into pricing already, but a continual diminution successful swaps would alteration lenders to terms much keenly, easing borrowers’ affordability concerns."

For those successful the marketplace for a caller mortgage, Alice Haine, idiosyncratic concern expert astatine Bestinvest by Evelyn Partners, advised: "Amid truthful overmuch uncertainty, those hunting for a caller owe should retrieve to analyse offers cautiously and consult a reputable broker to assistance them find the close solution for their needs."

She warned that imaginable buyers request to beryllium cautious astir fees, stating: "Lenders tin beryllium blameworthy of utilizing much charismatic rates to disguise precocious statement oregon merchandise fees. Calculating the wide outgo of the merchandise is imperative to find if 1 merchandise works retired cheaper than another."

Pricing trends were besides shown successful the astir caller location terms information from Halifax, presenting mean house prices alongside yearly increases (based connected the astir caller 3 months of approved owe transaction data):.

East Midlands, £245,352, 3.3%.

Eastern England, £337,267, 2.7%.

London, £548,288, 2.8%.

North East, £178,696, 5.2%.

North West, £239,772, 4.5%.

Northern Ireland, £205,473, 5.9%.

Scotland, £210,690, 2.4%.

South East, £391,298, 2.9%.

South West, £308,424, 4.0%.

Wales, £227,397, 3.6%.

West Midlands, £261,280, 4.0%.

Yorkshire and the Humber, £215,764, 4.6%.