By Laura McGuire
House prices rose by 1.3 per cent in January, marking the fourth monthly rise in a row, according to the latest reading from Halifax.
The high street lender said property prices also grew 2.5 per cent annually, the highest annual growth since January 2023. A typical UK home now costs £29k, over £3,900 more than last month.
Falling mortgage rates have improved sentiment in the housing market.
Rates have declined, in response to cooling inflation, but remain around three per cent higher than their December 2021 average of 2.34 per cent.
In London,house prices remain the most expensive when compared to the rest of the UK sitting at £529k. However, prices declined by 0.4 per cent on an annual basis last month.
Kim Kinnard, director at Halifax Mortgages said: “The recent reduction of mortgage rates from lenders as competition picks up, alongside fading inflationary pressures and a still-resilient labour market has contributed to increased confidence among buyers and sellers.
“This has resulted in a positive start to 2024’s housing market.”
The increases in house price turn the page on a miserable 2023 on the housing market.
Housing market activity has been weak throughout 2023, never really recovering from former prime minister Liz Truss’s disastrous mini-budget. The total number of transactions over the last six months of 2023 was around 10 per cent below pre-pandemic levels, with those involving a mortgage down around 20 per cent, reflecting the impacts of higher borrowing costs.
