Halifax House Price Index May 2021

House prices rose at their fastest rate in almost seven years, up by 9.5% in May against a 2.6% rise last year according to Halifax.

On a month-by-month basis, prices rose by 1.3% in May compared with April, with the average house price coming in at £261,743 – up more than £20,000 on last year.

By comparison rival Nationwide reported that house prices surged 10.9% year-on-year in May, marking the highest rate since August 2004.

Source: Halifax, IHS Markit

Provisional data from the HMRC shows that the number of house transactions cooled in April compared to March, down by 35.8% to 111,260 transactions (non-seasonally adjusted). But this is well above the 37,360 sales a year earlier when the nation grappled the first lockdown, and above the five-year average of some 99,000 transactions per month.

Halifax expects upward pressure on house prices to persist the temporary stamp duty reduction, which will be phased out between July and October this year, as preferences shift to post-pandemic lifestyles demanding more space.

The latest RICS Residential Market Survey shows that demand for housing continues to outstrip supply, with a lack of new instructions driving prices higher across all parts of the UK. However, there is regional variation, with house price inflation in Wales, the North West and Yorkshire & Humber outpacing Greater London the North East according to Halifax.

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