Annual house price growth recovered to 1.5% in July according to the latest figures from the Nationwide Building Society.
Prices rose up 1.7% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal factors, reversing last month’s fall.The average UK house is now worth £220,936.
Stamp Duty Holidays are likely to provide further support in the coming months
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner,Nationwide’s Chief Economist, said:
“UK house prices rose by 1.7% in July, after taking account of seasonal effects, offsetting the 1.6% fall in June. As a result,annual house price growth recovered to 1.5%, from -0.1%last month. On a seasonally adjusted basis, house prices in July were 1.6% lower than in April.”
“The bounce back in prices reflects the unexpectedly rapid recovery in housing market activity since the easing of lockdown restrictions.The rebound in activity reflects a number of factors. Pent updemand is coming through, where decisions taken to move before lockdown are progressing.”
“Behavioural shifts may be boosting activity, as people reassess their housing needs and preferences as a result of life in lockdown. Our own research, conducted in May ,
indicated that around 15% of people surveyed were considering moving as a result of life in lockdown.Moreover, social distancing does not appear to be having as much of a chilling effect as we might have feared, at least at this stage.”
