The price of homes in the UK rose 2.6% during the first half of the year

ONS figures show a slight but positive increase.

Average UK house prices increased 2.6% over the year to April 2020, down from 3.5% in March 2020 according to the latest ONS House Price Index.

Median house prices increased during the year in England to £251,000 (2.5%), Wales to £169,000 (5.0%), Scotland to £153,000 (1.6%) and Northern Ireland to £141,000 (3.8%). Median house prices in London increased by 2.3% over the year through April.

Median house prices in the UK were £ 235,000 in April, £6,000 higher than at the same time last year. Average house prices in the UK decreased by 0.2% between March and April 2020, compared to a 0.7% increase in the same period a year ago.

The East Midlands was the English region with the highest annual growth in house prices, with prices increasing by 4.7% to £201,000 in the year to April 2020, up from 4.0% in March 2020.

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The lowest annual growth was recorded in the Northeast, where prices decreased by 2.3% during the year to April 2020.

“The increase is very positive for the market.”

Sam Mitchell, CEO of online real estate agent Strike, said: “The latest statistics from the ONS confirm what we already knew when real estate transactions began to stop during the lockdown period with house prices falling since March. But the good news is that today we have a very different image in front of us.”

“Now that the restrictions have been lifted, the demand for properties is booming and it is being released in an environment of low-interest rates, the government stamp tax holiday has been like fuel thrown into the fire. In the last few months, we’ve seen at least a 50% increase in buyer demand now compared to before closing, and on average we are agreeing to twice as many sales per week as before closing, which is staggering.”

“To ease people’s nerves and overcome the challenges caused by the social distancing measures in place, some real estate agents have restructured their traditional models to offer virtual tools and technical services such as online views. Going forward, this will be crucial to keep the market moving.”

HICH LTD continues to work to offer the best property survey service, before, during, and after the pandemic; we have redoubled our efforts to maintain the quality standard that has made us a leading property survey company.

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