House prices tick up in July, Halifax index shows

House prices ticked up slightly in July after three relatively flat months, according to Halifax.

The bank’s latest house price index showed an increase of 0.8% in the month, while the annual rate of growth hit 2.3%, the highest level since the start of the year.

It means the average property in the UK now costs £291,268, compared to £289,042 in June.

Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said the Bank of England’s recent cut to the base rate was “encouraging” to those looking to remortgage, purchase a first home or move along the housing ladder.

“However, affordability constraints and the lack of available properties continue to pose challenges for prospective homeowners,” she said. 

“Against the backdrop of lower mortgage rates and potential further base rate reductions, we anticipate house prices to continue a modest upward trend throughout the remainder of this year.”

Northern Ireland once again recorded the highest level of price growth (up 5.8% annually and 4.1% on the month), while Eastern England was the only region to record a fall, with property values down 0.4% on an annual basis.

Sam Mitchell, chief executive of Purplebricks, said: “The growing confidence we’ve seen take hold of the housing market in recent weeks has been supercharged by the Bank of England’s interest rate cut. 

“With lenders already slashing mortgage rates in response to last week’s decision, buyers are beginning to move ahead with purchasing decisions they have been putting off for months.”

>> See also: July sees fastest UK house price growth since December 2022, reports Nationwide

Liz Edwards, money expert at personal finance site finder.com, said the figures showed the housing market “may finally be bouncing back” and also cited the base rate cut.

“With lending rates beginning to come down, and hopefully on a more permanent basis than we’ve seen previously, it seems the market may be stabilising,” she said.

“Millions of households who are due to renew their fixed mortgages this year will be glad to see the threat of potentially crippling mortgage repayments finally beginning to subside. 

“If we can continue on this trajectory, buyer confidence may start to stoke the market. 

“In fact, Finder recently polled a panel of experts to ask how much they believe house prices will change by the end of 2024, and 70% expect house prices to rise by up to 2.5% by the end of the year.”