UK house prices eased to £295,000 amid rising mortgage costs
The average UK house price came down in November to £295,000 from a record high of £296,000 in October.
Property Prices increased by 10.3% during the year ending November 2022. This was a decrease from 12.4% recorded in October 2022.
The increase over the 12 months period to November was £28,000, according to the ONS.
There are many factors that affect the average house price. In England the average to November was £315,000 (a 10.9% annual increase) , in Wales £220,000 (10.7%), Scotland £191,000 (5.5%) and in Northern Ireland it rose to £176,000 (10.7%).
“While London remains the slowest growing English region, Scotland’s annual growth was slower than London. The North West showed the highest annual growth in the year to November 2022,” ONS head of Housing Market Indices, Aimee North, said.
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“UK private rental prices continue to surge, reaching record highs for the eighth consecutive month as England and Wales experienced the highest annual growth since records began. London’s annual rental price inflation continues to increase, with annual growth rising faster than any other English region,” she added.
London’s average house prices remain the most expensive of any region in the UK, with an average price of £542,000 in November 2022.
In November 2022, the North West had the highest annual house prices inflation. In the year ended November, the average North West price rose by 13.5%
By contrast, the North East continued to have the lowest average house price of all English regions, at £163,000.
Jean Jameson, chief sales officer at Foxtons: “2022 began as a fast-paced sellers’ market, and London saw some of its highest levels of exchange volumes since 2017. Foxtons New Homes enjoyed their best start to 2019 since 2019 as buyers rushed to buy before the Help to Buy deadline. Despite the fact that buyers were more cautious at the end of 2018, we saw many people continue to make their purchases.
“In fact, our more suburban markets, particularly in South and South West London, had some of their strongest results since 2015.
The mortgage market is slowly recovering. Best buy rates are down substantially from their mini Budget spikes. However, it is possible that the housing market will cool somewhat in the New Year. This should allow prices to begin to stabilise in some areas and provide new opportunities to invest.”
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In recent months, interest rates have been falling after a turbulent 2015 that saw almost all rates below 5.5% disappear from market.
The financial markets were impacted by the UK government’s September mini-budget disaster. More than 40% of mortgage products were pulled overnight. Kwasi Kwarteng, then-chancellor of the UK,’s mini-budget caused a slump in the Pound and fears about further interest rate increases.
The Office for National Statistics (ONS), which warned that more than 1.4 million UK households are still at risk of rising interest rates when they renew their fixed-rate mortgages in 2023, has stated previously.
Managing director of House Buyer Bureau, Chris Hodgkinson, said: “The current cost of living crisis and the increased cost of borrowing, in particular, have somewhat dampened the enthusiasm of the nation’s homebuyers in recent months and we’re now starting to see this translate to a slight reduction in house prices.
“However the market landscape for property is fragmented. While many homeowners will have managed to avoid a drop in their property’s worth, there are plenty areas where house prices have begun to fall to a greater extent.
“While it’s generally expected that the market will remain resolute this year, sellers in areas where the market is coming off the boil are well advised to sell quickly in order to achieve the best price for their home.”