0:00 AM, 1st July 2025, About 7 months ago
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The UK’s house prices fell by 0.8% month-on-month in June, marking a slowdown in the property market, according to Nationwide’s latest data.
The monthly drop contributed to a softening of annual price growth to 2.1%, down from 3.5% in May.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said: “The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April.
“Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive.”
He added: “The unemployment rate remains low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace in real terms, household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little if Bank Rate is lowered further in the coming quarters as we and most other analysts expect.”
Regionally, Northern Ireland outperformed with a 9.7% annual price increase, down from 13.5% in Q1.
Scotland saw a 4.5% yearly rise, and Wales recorded 2.6% growth.
In England, annual growth eased to 2.5% from 3.3%, with Northern England at 3.1% and Southern England at 2.2%.
The north led England with 5.5% growth, while East Anglia lagged at 1.1%.
Terraced houses rose 3.6% year-on-year, semi-detached properties by 3.3%, and detached homes by 3.2%.
Flats saw minimal annual growth at 0.3%, down from 2.3% last quarter.
Nathan Emerson, Propertymark‘s chief executive, said: “Despite the fact we have witnessed much economic turmoil in the first half of the year, it is highly encouraging to see stability within the housing market as house price growth softened in June.
“We still sit in a phase of inflation not quite being where the Bank of England ideally want it to be and we still have elevated base rates.
“Nonetheless, it remains encouraging that consumers are still approaching the buying and selling process with a firm degree of confidence.
“Across the year to date, we have seen the average number of properties per member branch hold absolutely steady, and this year’s number represent a figure that is almost 20% higher than the same period twelve months earlier.”
Mark Harris, the chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “Moderating house price growth is good news for the wider health of the housing market, making home ownership more realistic for first-time buyers, many of whom are already relying on the Bank of Mum and Dad.
“Lenders have been reducing mortgage rates and enhancing loan-to-incomes, increasing the size of loan that some borrowers can access.
“However, while the borrowing environment may be easing, higher inflation and the wider economic picture remains a concern, which could mean the pace and size of further base rate reductions is more gradual than markets thought only a short while ago.”
Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “The legacy of the March stamp duty cliff edge is high supply and softer demand, which is putting downwards pressure on house prices.
“The good news is that rate cut expectations are growing due to the weaker UK economic outlook.
“The bad news is that the Chancellor has zero financial headroom to play with, which means a re-run of 2024 and a game of ‘guess the tax rise’ ahead of the Budget.
“We think there will be modest single-digit house price growth by the end of the year but if you are planning to sell over the next few months, asking prices will need to reflect the fact it is very much a buyers’ market.”
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