House price growth slows – mortgage approvals drops too
House prices in the UK rose 11.2% year-on-year in May, according to Nationwide.
The lender’s monthly house price index shows price growth slowed slightly for the second successive month, having risen by 12.1% in April and 14.3% in March, which was the fastest annual rise for 17 years. Monthly prices rose 0.9% for the ninth successive month.
Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide said the housing market is showing “surprising momentum” but expects the market to slow throughout the rest of the year.
He said: “Household finances are likely to remain under pressure with inflation set to reach double digits in the coming quarters if global energy prices remain high.
“ Measures of consumer confidence have already fallen towards record lows. Moreover, the Bank of England is widely expected to raise interest rates further, which will also exert a cooling impact on the market.”
The figures follow Bank of England data yesterday suggesting the Bank of England’s decision to raise interest rates may be having an impact on mortgage lending.
The data shows monthly net mortgage debt fell by a third in April to £4.1billion following increases to the base rate of interest. Mortgage approvals also fell from 69,500 in April to 66,000 in March, with both approvals and mortgage debt slightly below their 12 month pre-pandemic average for the year to February 2020.
The Bank of England increased its base rate from 0.25% to 0.5% on 3 February and then to 0.75% on 17 March and 1% on 5 May.
UK House transactions fell back in April
The number of house sales fell by almost 4% in April and was more than 12% down on the number seen in the bumper period last year, according to the latest official figures.
HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) figures for residential transactions in April showed that seasonally adjusted sales of 106,780 were achieved in the month, 12.1% down on April 2021 and 3.9% lower than in March.
However, the figures remain higher than average April numbers prior to the pandemic, according to HMRC, with the seasonally adjusted number 5.8% above the average for the month in the seven years before 2020.
HMRC said that caution should be used in interpreting the figures given the “significant volitity” in the numbers in recent years, including the forestalling of transactions due to the stamp duty changes.
The figures come amid increasing fears of a slowdown in the economy hitting the housing market – but few signs so far of a significant impact, with Rightmove yesterday reporting prices up 2.1% and the Halifax this month reporting a tenth successive month of price rises.
Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, said the slowdown in property sales might not necessarily be a result of the economic slowdown, but instead a sign of a return to a more normal housing market.
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