The average UK house price grew at the fastest pace in a year in January according to data released today by Nationwide.
The price of an average UK home grew 0.7% in the month of January to £257,656.
“UK house prices rose by 0.7% in January, after taking account of seasonal effects. This resulted in an improvement in the annual rate of house price growth from -1.8% in December to -0.2% in January, the strongest outturn since January 2023,” said Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist.
Gardner continued to explain falling mortgage rates were a core driver in the recent tick-up in house prices.
“There have been some encouraging signs for potential buyers recently with mortgage rates continuing to trend down. This follows a shift in view amongst investors around the future path of Bank Rate, with investors becoming more optimistic that the Bank of England will lower rates in the years ahead,” Gardner said.
Property experts are confident today’s news could mark the beginning of a recovery and the outlook for the market is in a much better place than it has been in recent months.
“Today’s data shows that the property sector is beginning to show signs of recovery. With a decline in inflation YoY and the peaking of interest rates, the overall outlook has considerably improved,” said Daniel Austin, CEO and co-founder at ASK Partners,” said
