UK house prices edged up by 0.5% month on month in September, according to Nationwide, with annual growth holding steady at 2.2% - just above August’s 2.1%.
The building society’s latest House Price Index puts the average UK home price at £271,995 in September, up from £271,079 in August.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's Chief Economist, said: “The broad stability in the annual rate of house price growth over the past three months mirrors that of activity. The number of mortgages approved for house purchase have been hovering at around 65,000 cases per month, close to the pre-pandemic average (despite the higher interest rate environment).”
Despite ongoing global uncertainties and speculation about potential property tax changes in the upcoming Budget, Nationwide remains optimistic about the housing outlook.
Mr Gardner said: “Unemployment is low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace, household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little further if Bank Rate is lowered in the coming quarters as we, and most other analysts, expect. Providing the broader economic recovery is maintained, housing market activity is likely to strengthen gradually in the quarters ahead.”
Northern Ireland remains strongest performer with semi-detached homes most popular
Northern Ireland recorded the highest annual price growth in the three months to September, according to Nationwide, with prices rising 9.6% to an average of £215,122.
That’s more than triple the growth seen in Wales (3%) and six times the growth in England (1.6%) over the same period. The weakest performing area was the Outer South East of England, where price growth slowed to 0.3% between July and September, down from 2.6% the previous quarter.
By property type, semi-detached homes saw the strongest price growth over the last 12 months, with average prices up 3.4% year on year. Mr Gardner said: ““Detached and terraced properties saw similar growth, at 2.5% and 2.4% respectively. However, flats saw a small year-on-year decline of 0.3%.
“Looking over the longer term, flats have seen noticeably weaker growth than other property types in recent years. For example, over the last 10 years, the price of a typical flat has increased by around 20%, less than half of the rise in the price of terraced houses over the same period.”
