House prices steady in June with improving market activity – Halifax

The UK’s housing market showed resilience in June, with average property prices holding firm at £296,665, virtually unchanged from £296,782 in May, Halifax reveals.

Annual price growth eased to 2.5% from 2.6% in May, reflecting a steady but cautious market.

The lender’s head of mortgages, Amanda Bryden, said: “Market activity is gaining momentum, particularly among first-time buyers, whose numbers have returned to levels seen before recent stamp duty changes.

“The market’s resilience continues to stand out and, after a brief slowdown following the spring stamp duty changes, mortgage approvals and property transactions have both picked up, with more buyers returning to the market.”

New lending guidance

Ms Bryden continued: “Lenders have also responded to new regulatory guidance by taking a more flexible approach to affordability assessments.

“Over the last two months, we’ve already helped an additional 3,000 buyers – including more than 1,000 first-time buyers – access a mortgage they wouldn’t have qualified for before.”

She added: “Of course, challenges remain.

“Affordability is still stretched, particularly for those coming to the end of fixed-rate deals.

“The economic backdrop also remains uncertain; while inflation has eased, it’s still above target, and there are signs the job market may be softening.”

Halifax is predicting modest house price growth in the second half of the year.

Regional price performance

For the best performing regions, Northern Ireland leads with a robust 9.6% annual price increase, bringing the average home cost to £212,189.

Scotland followed with a 4.9% rise, with properties averaging £214,891.

Wales saw a 3.9% uplift, with homes priced at £229,622.

In England, the North West outperformed other regions with a 4.4% increase, reaching £241,938.

Growth in the South West and London was more subdued, at 0.5% and 0.6% respectively, though London remains the priciest region, with homes averaging £540,048.

Reaction from the property sector

Matt Thompson, the head of sales at estate agency Chestertons, said: “Property buyers were hoping for another interest rate cut last month, but higher-than-expected inflation diminished those odds.

“On a national level, some house hunters opted to pause their search or change their search criteria to find a home within their budget.

“In London, however, buyer demand remained relatively strong with a particular uplift in domestic buyers across central London where property prices have recently seen a price adjustment.”

Nathan Emerson, the chief executive of Propertymark, said: “Today’s news suggests that house prices have dropped quarterly and that there has been no monthly increase in house prices, which demonstrates that the UK housing market has faced considerable upheaval in response to a turbulent global economy and Stamp Duty thresholds in England and Northern Ireland increasing from the beginning of April.”

Jason Tebb, the president of OnTheMarket, said: “Although buyers brought forward purchases in order to take advantage of the stamp duty concession, since then the housing market has demonstrated remarkable resilience, shaking off external economic concerns amid evidence of plenty of activity.

“Recent base rate cuts have been fundamental in boosting confidence and activity.

“Further rate reductions from the Bank of England will provide much-needed stimulus for the market and boost buyer and seller confidence as the year progresses.”

Foxtons’ chief executive, Guy Gittins, said: “Despite house price growth remaining flat on a month-to-month basis, today’s Halifax figures continue to illustrate the strength in the market with the longer-term view of market health showing house prices remain higher on an annual basis.

“We’ve already seen a heightened degree of activity over the first six months of the year and, as we head into H2, our expectation is that market activity will continue to strengthen.”

Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “House prices may have held steady, but high supply and weak demand suggest this is not the start of a rebound.

“New listings were 9% higher than last year between January and June but new prospective buyers were down by 8%.

“Supply is higher following the stamp duty cliff edge in March and as more landlords sell, but consumer confidence remains weak after economic activity was pulled forward into the first quarter of the year.

“We expect modest single-digit house price growth in 2025 as rates come down in the second half of the year but asking prices need to reflect the fact it is very much a buyer’s market.”

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