House prices in the UK increased by 0.5% in November, the second consecutive monthly rise, the Halifax house price index reveals.
The average price of a home now stands at £283,615, which is £40,000 higher than before the pandemic.
However, prices are still 1% lower than a year ago while Northern Ireland has shown the best performance with a 2.3% rise in prices.
Homeowners in the South East saw prices struggling the most with a 5.7% fall in a year.
‘Prices have held up better than expected’
The director of Halifax Mortgages, Kim Kinnaird, said: “Over the last year, despite the wider economic headwinds, property prices have held up better than expected, falling by a relatively modest -1% on an annual basis, and still some £40,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
“The resilience seen in house prices during 2023 continues to be underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand.
“That said, recent figures for mortgage approvals suggest a slight uptick in activity levels, which is likely as a result of an improving picture on affordability for homebuyers.”
She added: “With mortgage rates starting to ease slightly, this may be leading to increased buyer confidence, seeing people more inclined to push ahead with their home purchases.”
‘Been a good month for a tough market’
The head of personal finance at Hargreaves Lansdown, Sarah Coles, said: “While sellers still face the tricky business of persuading someone to buy before they can realise these higher prices, we’ve had some more positive news on that front too. It has been a good month for a tough market, but we can’t get carried away just yet.
“House prices are robust, and the annual fall is now a modest 1%.
“In the next couple of months, as we compare to lower prices a year earlier, we could climb back into positive territory on an annual basis, especially if we see more monthly rises.”
She adds: “Unfortunately, sellers face a problem that’s all too familiar now.
“On paper things are looking good, but they actually have to find a buyer first, and they’re still pretty thin on the ground.”
‘Further signs of property market positivity’
Guy Gittins, the chief executive of Foxtons, said: “A second consecutive monthly increase demonstrates further signs of property market positivity today.
“Although the market is yet to return to full health when viewing house price performance on an annual basis, it appears as though a freeze in interest rates is helping to boost homebuyer sentiment and bring a greater degree of stability. This puts us in very good stead looking ahead to the new year.”
The chief executive of Yopa, Verona Frankish, said: “It appears as though cooling market conditions have now started to thaw, with multiple house price indices showing that the market is now heading in the right direction, as house prices continue to climb on a monthly basis.
“A hold on interest rates has brought greater stability for buyers who are already returning to the market despite the usual Christmas break fast approaching and we’ve already seen seller numbers increase notably in recent weeks.”
‘Look set to finish pretty much where we started’
Marc von Grundherr, a director of Benham and Reeves, said: “Despite a turbulent year, we look set to finish pretty much where we started with respect to house price performance, and this is certainly no bad thing given that property values boomed during the pandemic.
“While this may seem a tad underwhelming for the nation’s home sellers, they can enter the market with the confidence that their home will continue to command a very strong price indeed and we’ve already seen many make the decision to do so in recent weeks.”
Octane Capital’s chief executive, Jonathan Samuels, said: “While buyers remain somewhat restricted due to higher mortgage rates, we have seen an uptick in the number of mortgage approvals in recent months which suggests that a static base rate is helping to boost market confidence.
“So, while house prices may have remained largely unchanged and are expected to do so until the end of the year, this does, at least, provide a strong foundation for positive market growth in the new year.”
