Average UK house prices in July jumped 7.6% year on year, but London growth lags the regions

Average UK house prices in July were up 7.6% from a year earlier, but the rate of growth has cooled, new figures show.

According to mortgage lender Halifax, prices stood at £261,221 last month. That was 0.4% higher than the prior month when stronger annual growth of 8.7% was recorded.

Last month marked when changes to a stamp duty holiday came in, giving buyers a less generous offer.

In London the year on year growth reported in July was 2.5%, while growth in Wales and the North of England led the way. Commentators have previously pointed out that prices in the capital were already high in many cases pre-pandemic.

Russell Galley, managing director of Halifax said: “Recent months have been characterised by historically high volumes of buyer activity, with June the busiest month for mortgage completions since 2008.”

He added: “This has been fueled both by the ‘race for space’ and the time-limited stamp duty break. With the latter now entering its final stages, buyer activity should continue to ease over the coming months, and a steadier period for the market may lie ahead.””

In July 2020 a stamp duty holiday was introduced to help boost the sector after the market was effectively shut down at the start of the pandemic, with viewings off the cards and estate agent branches closed.

That meant no tax to pay on the first £500,000 of property purchases. Last month that moved to a £250,000 figure.

But the industry continues to benefit from numerous people reassessing housing needs during the pandemic.

Earlier this week Pete Redfern, the boss of FTSE 100 housebuilder Taylor Wimpey, said that even since the new stamp duty change came in, “the appetite [to buy] is still very very healthy”.

Halifax’s Galley said: “Overall, assuming a continuation of recent economic trends, we expect the housing market to remain solid over the next few months, with annual price growth continuing to slow but remaining well into positive territory by the end of the year.”

Tomer Aboody, director of property lender MT Finance, said: “Property prices continue to rise as the strongest housing market we have had in years continues to perform well, with confidence in the economy growing and lack of supply supporting values.”

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