Housing Market in UK Set for ‘Rollercoaster Ride’
The housing market is set for a “rollercoaster ride” as figures show prices soared by 15.5 percent. According to the Office of National Statistics, average UK house prices increased by 15.5 percent over the year to July 2022, up from 7.8 percent in June 2022. The ONS figures mark the highest annual inflation rate the UK has seen since May 2003. Average UK house prices also increased by £6,000 between June and July in 2022, compared with a fall of £13,000 between the same months last year. The ONS said the sudden doubling of the annual rate of price growth “was mainly because of a base effect from the falls in prices seen this time last year as a result of changes in the stamp duty holiday”. The annual increases in England and Wales were bigger at 16.4 percent and 17.6 percent respectively, with Scotland and Northern Ireland below the UK average at 9.9 percent and 9.6 percent. “July’s doubling in the pace of price growth – accelerating to its fastest level in 19 years – is first and foremost a statistical anomaly. The annual rate of inflation has been pushed artificially high because July 2021 saw prices fall following the end of the Stamp Duty stampede. “Since then, the average home has seen its value surge by £39,000 – giving us dizzying year-on-year figure. Needless to say, the coming months are unlikely to see figures anything like this. And yet prices are still rising steadily month on month. The average price paid for a home rose by 1 percent between May and June, and by a further 2 percent between June and July. This is solid stuff and represents the ninth consecutive monthly increase in values, albeit a fraction of the 5.7 percent spike seen in June 2021.
Tags : housing market rollercoaster ride prices soar Office of National Statistics Stamp Duty England Wales