House prices at record high, says Halifax

The mean UK location terms reached a grounds precocious past month, according to Halifax.

The UK's largest owe lender said the mean terms deed £293,999 successful October, surpassing a highest of £293,507 that was reached successful June 2022.

Halifax said it expected prices to proceed to emergence astatine a "modest pace" for the adjacent fewer months.

However, it warned that owe costs could stay "higher for longer" pursuing past week's Budget.

Following the Budget, which included plans to get and walk billions of pounds, fiscal markets expect the Bank of England to chopped rates much dilatory than antecedently anticipated.

However, the Bank is inactive expected to chopped its cardinal complaint to 4.75% from 5% aboriginal connected Thursday.

Halifax said location prices edged up by 0.2% successful October, meaning spot values person present accrued for 4 months successful a row.

House prices are up 3.9% from a twelvemonth earlier, Halifax said, which is simply a flimsy alteration from the 4.6% yearly summation seen successful September.

Commenting connected the caller grounds high, Amanda Bryden, caput of mortgages astatine Halifax, said: “That location prices person reached these heights again successful the existent economical clime whitethorn travel arsenic a astonishment to many, but possibly much noteworthy is that they didn’t autumn precise acold successful the archetypal place.

"Despite the headwind of higher involvement rates, location prices person mostly levelled disconnected implicit the past 2 and a fractional years, signaling a +0.2% summation overall."

She added that Budget announcements specified arsenic higher stamp work for 2nd location buyers and a instrumentality to erstwhile thresholds for first-time buyers could deed request for properties.

However, it she added that marketplace enactment had been improving, with the fig of caller mortgages agreed precocious hitting the highest level for 2 years.

David Stirling, an autarkic fiscal advisor astatine Mint Mortgages & Protection, said: "Estate agents are engaged adjacent successful a higher involvement complaint situation and owe applications and approvals are inactive strong."

London remains the astir costly spot successful the UK to bargain a house.

The mean spot determination present costs £543,308, which is up 3.5% compared to past year, the Halifax said.

Northern Ireland has maintained its grounds for the strongest yearly location terms maturation successful the UK.

The mean terms of a spot determination is present £204,242.

In England, the North West portion saw the strongest maturation with prices up 5.9% implicit the past twelvemonth making the mean location outgo £235,587.

House prices successful Wales besides saw a beardown growth, up 5.6% compared to past year, with homes present costing an mean of £225,543.

In Scotland, a emblematic spot present costs £206,480, which is up 1.9% compared to 2023.