‘Halifax’ found that house prices in March unexpectedly fell by 1% MoM. In February, the average house price was £291,338. This was following a 5-month consecutive hike in house prices. In March, the price fell to £288,430. This was the first fall in 6 months. Data from mortgage provider ‘Nationwide’ also supports these findings.
Despite this, prices in March are still 0.3% higher than they were in March of 2023. However, in February, the YoY increase was 1.6%. February mortgage lending rates hit a 17-month high. However, prices haven’t changed much and are still £50,000 above pre-pandemic levels.
The average 2-year fixed rate mortgage, however, is rising. In January, rates fell to a low of 5.55%. At the start of March, they reached 5.76%. Therefore, buyers can’t be too comforted by the news of decreased prices.