April house price fall – what is behind it?

May 14, 2020 by Brendan O'Neill

House Prices

The most recent index published by the Halifax has revealed that house prices in the UK experienced a drop of 0.6% compared with the month before, but what is behind this price drop?

Unsurprisingly, the fall during that period is being largely attributed to the impact of the coronavirus and the government-imposed lockdown. In publishing its index, the Halifax pointed out that all activity within the housing market had effectively ground to a halt thanks to these factors and that the very limited number of transactions made it unusually hard to estimate the average price of a house in the UK right now.

The managing director of the bank, Russell Galley, told Mortgage Strategy that the effects of the lockdown on market activity means that the market is very volatile and it would not be until after it ends that more information would be available to determine what lasting effect coronavirus will have on prices. He added:

“More immediately, we are likely to see some considerable movement in activity levels as buyers and sellers seek to kick-start previously agreed transactions which are likely to have been stalled or delayed.”

Galley concluded by saying that the Halifax anticipated that the housing market would face tough times at first, due to the ongoing impact of the virus, but that it was sure the longer-term would see price levels rise again.

Like many within the industry, advisors with a CeMAP qualification will be watching the market with interest over the next few months.