House prices bounced back during February

March 6, 2021 by Brendan O'Neill

House Prices

The latest house price index from Nationwide shows that February brought a bounce back in the annual house price growth rate after it fell the month before, with many in the industry expressing surprise at this.

This index indicates that there was a 6.9% rise in the level of price growth during last month, which many industry observers were not expecting as the stamp duty threshold was set to return to its normal level. The news comes after last month’s price index revealed that the yearly rate of price growth had fallen to 6.4% in January.

When looked at from month-to-month, the average price of a house went up by 0.7% during February, with seasonal factors accounted for. This makes for a striking comparison with January, which brought a 0.2% drop in the monthly price figure. Furthermore, the £231,061 average price for February represents the single highest monthly price average that has been recorded.

Speaking to FT Adviser, Nationwide Chief Economist Robert Gardner expressed his surprise at the figures, before adding:

“It seemed more likely that annual price growth would soften further ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday, which prompted many people considering a house move to bring forward their purchase.”

Gardner concluded by suggesting that this holiday may be continuing to provide momentum to the housing market.

The strength of the housing market is great for the mortgage sector too, and it will ensure that getting a CeMAP mortgage advisor qualification remains a popular career choice.