According to the latest research from Nationwide, annual house price growth rose to 3.2% at the start of 2018, up from 2.6% at the end of 2017.
This growth spurt was echoed by house prices themselves, which increased by 0.6% over the same period.
Nationwide’s Chief Economist, Robert Gardner, commented that this acceleration in growth was a little surprising, given that mortgage approvals declined to their lowest rate in three years last December.
One explanation for the rise could be that ‘the flow of properties coming onto estate agents’ books has been more of trickle than a torrent for some time now and the lack of supply is likely to be the key factor providing support to house prices,’ said Robert.
On the subject of what the future holds for house prices and growth in Britain, Robert added that our exit from the European Union will be critical in deciding how the housing market will perform over the coming months.
‘How the housing market performs in the year ahead will be determined in large part by developments in the wider economy. Brexit developments will remain important, though these remain hard to foresee.’
The current forecasts are that housing market activity will continue to slow at a modest pace, and the shortage of properties on the market is unlikely to change in the near future.
The full house price index report can be found on the Nationwide website.
At Ansons, we are residential property specialists. If you are considering buying or selling a house or flat in the Staffordshire area, contact Julie Tomasik on 01543 267988, or email jtomasik@ansons.law
The contents of this article are for the purposes of general awareness only. They do not purport to constitute legal or professional advice. The law may have changed since this article was published. Readers should not act on the basis of the information included and should take appropriate professional advice upon their own particular circumstances.