The price of housing at the national level reaches its maximum in the last 5 years.

The increasing activity has sent home prices soaring 6.5% in November, the highest growth rate since January 2015, the Nationwide Home Price Index revealed.

This represents a 5.8% increase in October.

On a monthly basis, prices have increased by 0.9% to £229.721 in November, a faster increase than the previous month (0.8%).

“Buyers want to take advantage of the Stamp Duty Holiday while they can.”

Miles Robinson, director of mortgages at online mortgage broker Trussle, said: “This growth was likely due to demand from buyers eager to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, which is an attractive incentive to buy a new home for what it has been a challenging period for many.”

“Although the holiday runs through March 31, 2021, unfortunately for many, it could be too late to benefit from the tax relief, with processing delays due to the unprecedented level of demand. While the outlook is still uncertain, the next few months could mark a turning point, and we may see a large number of transactions start to decline.”

Despite the rise in house prices, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist, was cautious about the market’s state.

He said: “Economic growth slowed drastically from 6.3% in July to 2.2% in August and 1.1% in September, although the economy was still around 8% lower than its pre-pandemic level at that time.”

“Increased infection rates and stricter social restrictions will have resulted in a further impact on growth in October and November.”

“Labor market conditions also weakened with the unemployment rate rising to 4.8% in the three months through September, still low by historical standards, but above an average of 3.8% in 2019.”

“Extending the licensing plan through March 2021 will help limit short-term job losses by allowing companies to retain more staff than otherwise.”

He added: “Housing market activity is likely to slow down in the coming quarters, perhaps drastically, if the labor market weakens as most analysts expect, especially after the late stamp tax holiday expires of March.”

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