House prices across Britain climbed modestly in October, with annual growth ticking up to 2.4% from September’s 2.2%, according to Nationwide Building Society.
The average property now costs £272,226. Monthly growth stood at 0.3%, slightly down from the previous month’s 0.5% increase.
The figures suggest the housing market is maintaining steady, if unremarkable, momentum. Nationwide’s data also runs counter to a recent Zoopla report showing average UK house prices falling slightly in September.
“Against a backdrop of subdued consumer confidence and signs of weakening in the labour market, this performance indicates resilience, especially since mortgage rates are more than double the level they were before Covid struck and house prices are close to all time highs,” explained Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist.
Nationwide’s seasonally adjusted index reached 544.3 in October, up from 542.9 the month before.
“As the year continues to unfold, we have seen challenges and achievements in almost equal measure. It is positive for those on the housing ladder to see them accumulate more equity,” said Nathan Emerson, CEO at Propertymark.
“However, the flip side is that it remains ever more demanding for first-time buyers to attain a foothold on their housing journey.
“Three base rate dips have helped increase consumer affordability; however, we still have a rate of inflation that is near double what the Bank of England is hoping for. We have seen Stamp Duty threshold changes disrupting sales trends for those in England and Northern Ireland earlier this year, and we now have the Autumn Budget just around the corner which may influence the smooth flow of property transactions, with many people holding out to see what changes may potentially be announced.”