House prices have risen by 1.1 per cent on a yearly basis to reach an average of £288,949 in April, Halifax has revealed.
The Halifax House Price Index found UK house prices held steady in April, up 1.1 per cent on the previous year, compared to just 0.4 per cent last month.
UK house prices remained largely unchanged on a monthly basis, up by 0.1 per cent in April this year after a fall of -0.9 per cent in March.
Halifax head of mortgages, Amanda Bryden, said the housing market was “finding its feet in an era of higher interest rates”.
She explained: “While borrowing costs remain more expensive than a few years ago, homebuyers are gaining confidence from a period of relative stability.
“Activity and demand is improving, evidenced by greater numbers of mortgage applications so far this year, while at an industry level mortgage approvals have reached their highest point in 18 months.”
Regional disparity
The index also reported a regional disparity in house prices, with Northern Ireland found to be the strongest performing nation or region in the UK, with house prices up by 3.4 per cent on an annual basis in April.
While this represented a slowdown from March, which saw prices in the region increase by 4.1 per cent on a yearly basis, Halifax also reported that properties in Northern Ireland now cost an average of £192,502.
A similar price growth was discovered in the North West which continued to see the strongest growth in England, rising by 3.3 per cent on a yearly basis to £231,599.
However, the index also reported that price falls were found predominantly in the south of England as the north-south divide “is sustained”.
Properties in Eastern England recorded the biggest decline of 1.1 per cent with homes selling for an average of £329,723, a drop of £3,541 over the last year.
London remains the most expensive region in the UK to buy a home, with an average price of £539,336.
Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance, Sarah Cole, said these figures indicate the market is “wonky”.
“In the south, prices tend to be higher. It means mortgages are bigger, and so higher rates hit harder,” she explained.
“Buyers are having to wait, and hope that rates fall, in order to afford the kind of property they really want to live in - or lower their ambitions and buy somewhere they can bear to live with instead.
“As a result, demand is down, and property prices are level or falling.”
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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