UK house prices growth slowed down during April
28/04/2016
Following the surge of buying houses in March, the UK house price growth has slowed down this April, according to statistics released by Nationwide Building Society.
In April, the annual pace of house price growth slowed to 4.9%, compared with 5.7% in the month before.
House prices rose by just 0.2% in April alone which is the lowest monthly increase we’ve seen since last November.
Nationwide’s research has shown that the number of property sales in March hit a record high as many landlords rushed to buy in order to beat the rise in stamp duty.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist said: "It may be that the surge in house purchase activity resulting from the increase in stamp duty on second homes from 1 April provided a temporary boost to prices in March," said Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist."
According to HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC), during the month of March, there were 165,400 transactions, which is higher than the previous peek of 149,000 in 2007.
Nationwide's research also showed that the price of the average house or flat in the UK increased to a record high of £202,436.
Gardner continued: "House purchase activity is likely to fall in the months ahead given the number of purchasers that brought forward transactions.
"The recovery thereafter may also be fairly gradual, especially in the Buy to Let sector, where a wealth of other policy changes, such as the reduction in tax relief for landlords from 2017 are likely to exert an ongoing drag."
The Council of Mortgage Lenders estimates that mortgage lending rose to almost £26 billion in March. This amount is up by 43% from the £18 billion recorded in February.
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