9:44 AM, 2nd April 2025, About 3 weeks ago
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The monthly house prices rise in March was 0% from February, while the annual price rise was stable at 3.9% – also unchanged from February’s figure, Nationwide reports.
The highest annual price rise was for homes in Northern Ireland at 13.5%, but London saw the weakest performance at 1.9%.
The lender says that the average house price is now £271,316 – up from £270,493.
Across England, the annual price increase was 3.3%, a slight rise from the previous 3.1%.
Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said: “There was no change in prices month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal effects.
“These price trends are unsurprising, given the end of the stamp duty holiday at the end of March.
“Indeed, the market is likely to remain a little soft in the coming months since activity will have been brought forward to avoid the additional tax obligations – a pattern typically observed in the wake of the end of stamp duty holidays.”
He added: “Nevertheless, activity is likely to pick up steadily as the summer progresses, despite wider economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential home buyers in the UK remain supportive.”
Nationwide says that the North, North West, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands and West Midlands, saw a robust 4.9% year-on-year increase, with the North West leading at 5.9%.
In contrast, southern areas experienced a slower 2.5% rise.
Scotland and Wales also showed steady gains, with annual increases of 3.9% and 3.6% respectively, highlighting a broadly stable market outside the capital.
The data shows that semi-detached homes led with a 4.8% annual price jump, while flats saw growth drop to 2.3%.
Detached and terraced properties followed with increases of 4.5% and 4.1% respectively.
Nathan Emerson, the chief executive of Propertymark, said: “The housing market has witnessed an extremely encouraging start to the year with sustained house price growth year on year.
“Although we now sit at the very start of the amended stamp duty thresholds for people across England and Northern Ireland, we remain optimistic to see strong market momentum across the entire UK, as we head towards the traditionally busy summer months.”
Matt Thompson, the head of sales at Chestertons, said: “Despite the rush of first-time buyers entering the market to beat the stamp duty deadline having slowed down, sellers anticipate a busy spring market.
“We have seen an increasing number of homeowners listing their property for sale in March which is currently creating a greater choice for house hunters.
“Still, with London having one of the most competitive property markets in the world, buyers are required to act fast and start their search as early as possible.”
Jason Tebb, the president of OnTheMarket, said: “The housing market continues its strong start to the year as buyers and sellers brought forward transactions to take advantage of the stamp duty concession.
“With that incentive no longer available, other inducements – such as interest rate reductions – are more vital than ever. Two quarter-point base-rate cuts in the second half of last year, followed by one so far this year, have noticeably boosted sentiment and transactions.”
Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: “House prices were supported by the stamp duty deadline in the first quarter of the year, but we expect a dip in activity as demand effectively resets from April.
“Buyers coming back into the market with a re-levelled playing field will find that supply is strong, which should keep downwards pressure on prices.
“Activity should recover by the summer but borrowing costs could be held higher for longer by erratic US trade policy and the inflationary impact of measures like the employer national insurance changes.”
