UK Halifax House Prices Edge Up In April

(RTTNews) - UK house prices rose only marginally in April as rising interest rate expectations weighed on the property market, data published by the mortgage lender Halifax showed on Tuesday.

House prices posted a monthly increase of 0.1 percent in April, which was weaker than the expected 0.2 percent growth. However, this was in contrast to the 0.9 percent fall in March.

On a yearly basis, property price growth advanced to 1.1 percent from 0.4 percent in the prior month. Nonetheless, the increase was attributed to the base effect of weaker price growth around the same time last year.

The average property costs GBP 288,949 compared to GBP 287,244 at the start of the year.

Halifax Head of Mortgages Amanda Bryden said average house prices largely plateaued in the early part of 2024 reflecting a housing market that finds its feet in an era of higher interest rates.

Bryden said the recent research showed that buyers are adjusting their expectations with first-time buyers in particular compensating for higher borrowing costs by targeting smaller properties.

However, Bryden noted the fact that affordability constraints are still a significant challenge for both new buyers and those rolling off fixed-term deals.

As expectations around future Bank of England base rate changed, mortgage rates edged up again in recent weeks.

With the expected downward moves in the bank rate and the resilience displayed by the housing market over recent months, property prices are expected to rise moderately over the course of 2024, said Bryden. The Bank of England is widely expected to keep its benchmark rate at 5.25 percent, the highest level since early 2008. The outcome of the monetary policy meeting is due on May 9.