​June house price rise ‘highest for six years’ says Rightmove

House prices rose by 0.8% in the last month - the highest June increase for six years, Rightmove has reported.

However, the property website also reported “early signs of slowing” in the market, with the month-on-month rise down from the 1.8% posted for May and 2.1% in June. It said this was due in part to an “all-time low in the number of properties available for sale”.

Sales in May were 17% ahead of the same period in 2019, compared to April, when they were 45% ahead.

The average selling price across Britain was £336,073, during the period. The data is based on properties put on sale from 9th May to 12th June.

Tim Bannister, director of property data at Rightmove, said: “Since the market re-opened last May in England we have seen huge jumps in the numbers of sales being agreed, but these are now rising at a slower pace. Record low interest rates and stamp duty tax reliefs have helped many to afford higher prices, satisfying their pent-up desires for a new home fit for a new era.

“Some of that demand has now been met, and the phasing out of stamp duty reliefs has also taken away some of the urgency to move, though our high traffic and search data indicate that there is still strong buyer demand. However, higher prices combined with a lack of fresh choice coming to market are reducing some buyers’ ability or desire to move, and while we expect the market to remain robust, there are early signs of a slackening in the incredible pace of activity that we’ve seen over the last year.”

All regions of England, and Scotland and Wales saw average monthly price rises, with the South West and East Midlands recording the largest increases of 2%.

Last week, the Office for National Statistics actually said house prices fell in April month-on-month due to the original stamp duty holiday deadline inflating prices in March.

However this was seemingly contradicted by figures from Halifax and Nationwide reporting strong price rises in April. The figures also come despite numerous commentators and bodies warning that the market is accelerating.

The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors earlier this month revealed in its Residential Market Survey for May that 83% of surveyors have seen price rises over the last three months - the highest figure since August 1988, almost 33 years ago. The Bank of England’s chief economist Andy Haldane last week described the housing market as “on fire”.