House price growth falls

Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveals that house prices in July were only 0.6% higher than the previous year, down from a 1.9% increase in June. This is the weakest reading since September 2012. The average UK house price in July was £290,000, £2,000 more than the previous year but £2,000 below the record set in November. The ONS data shows that prices are falling fastest in Wales, with house values 0.1% lower in July than a year earlier, while annual price growth in Scotland also slowed to 0.1%. Meanwhile in England, prices increased by 0.6% in the 12 months to July, with London being the weakest-performing regional market. However, it has been overtaken by the southwest, where prices fell 1%. Gabriella Dickens, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: "Some potential buyers might be emboldened by the recovery in their real incomes in the second half of the year, as wages rise more quickly than prices. But consumers' confidence is still very weak by past standards and expectations of further house price falls remain entrenched." 

The Independent (20/09/2023)   The Times (20/09/2023)