The Nationwide House Price Index for April reveals that annual house price levels in the UK went up by 7.1% during the month, taking them to new record-high levels.
These stats from Nationwide show that the average price of a UK home hit £238,831 during April, which represents an increase of £15,916 over the course of the last year. That figure is a record number, and it is the result of a month-on-month price rise of 2.1%, which is the biggest spike in house prices from one month to another that the market has seen since February of 2004.
Prices also rose during March, but by just 5.7%, so the growth for April is a substantial improvement. Nationwide is indicating that, should prices stay flat for the following couple of months, it expects the annual house price growth to hit double figures during June.
The Chief Economist for Nationwide, Robert Gardner, told Financial Reporter that:
“Just as expectations of the end of the stamp duty holiday led to a slowdown in house price growth in March, so the extension of the stamp duty holiday in the Budget prompted a reacceleration in April.”
Gardner went on to add that Nationwide research indicated that this extension was not the actual thing driving house sales and purchases, with three quarters of those it had spoken to stating that they would have looked to move regardless.
The continued health of the housing market is very encouraging for people who have finished CeMAP courses and are ready to start careers as mortgage advisors.
