"This was the moment the market began to catch fire over the summer having emerged from the pandemic in better shape than many predicted."
Average house prices increased over the year in England to £256,000 (2.8%), Wales to £173,000 (2.7%), Scotland to £155,000 (0.6%) and Northern Ireland to £141,000 (3.0%).
The East Midlands was the English region to see the highest annual growth in average house prices (3.6%), while the North East saw the lowest (0.2%).
On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, average house prices saw a monthly rise of 0.7% between July and August, compared with an increase of 0.3% in the same period a year ago. On a seasonally adjusted basis, average prices increased by 0.5%, following a decrease of 0.5% in the previous month.
Lucy Pendleton, property expert at James Pendleton estate agents, commented: “This was the moment the market began to catch fire over the summer having emerged from the pandemic in better shape than many predicted. Now, as we enter autumn, the heat still isn’t coming out of this market.
“There’s been some talk lately of what effect the removal of many high LTV mortgages is having on the first-time buyer market which is as much a leading indicator as the all important London market. In the capital, where these two worlds collide, it’s having very little effect. Demand for cheaper properties hasn’t weakened and that’s because the bank of mum and dad is still widely open for business, interest rates remain low and high rents mean it’s still well worth getting on the property ladder.
“As long as mortgage repayments remain cheaper than the cost of rent, demand to buy a first home will continue to show strength, and first-time buyers everywhere are still able to turn to the Help to Buy scheme if they need to.
“We are about to hit a period when the market traditionally slows down. When the clocks change, people switch into hibernation mode and new enquiries begin to soften until the New Year. How much the stamp duty holiday will affect that this year remains to be seen, but this incentive plays a relatively muted role in the capital where prices are highest.”
