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House prices in UK fall 0.8% in June 2025: Nationwide data
House prices in UK fall 0.8% in June 2025: Nationwide data

Time of India

time20 hours ago

  • Business
  • Time of India

House prices in UK fall 0.8% in June 2025: Nationwide data

LONDON: British house prices fell by 0.8% in June, a sharper fall than forecast and the biggest monthly decline in more than two years, as a discount on property transactions ended, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2% monthly increase. For the year, house prices were 2.1% higher than a year ago, below a 3.5% rise in May and lagging a consensus for a 3.1% annual increase. "The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April," Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said. "Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive." Other measures of Britain's housing market have shown a mixed picture after the expiry of a temporary tax discount scheme for first-time homebuyers ended. Bank of England data on Monday showed lenders approved more mortgages than expected in May, helped by lower borrowing costs. The BoE held interest rates at 4.25% last month, and investors expect the central bank to reduce borrowing costs in two further quarter-point moves to 3.75% by the end of the year.

UK house prices fall as stamp duty hits demand
UK house prices fall as stamp duty hits demand

Times

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • Times

UK house prices fall as stamp duty hits demand

House prices fell by the most in more than two years last month as an increase in stamp duty costs started to hurt demand, a closely watched survey suggests. Property prices fell by 0.8 per cent month-on-month to £271,619 in June, according to the Nationwide house price index, a sharper-than-expected fall than economists had forecast and marking the biggest monthly decline since February 2023. The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 2.1 per cent in June, from 3.5 per cent a month earlier. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: 'The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April.' Changes to stamp duty mean that now housebuyers in England and Northern Ireland pay the tax on properties over £125,000, rather than over £250,000, as was the case previously. First-time buyers also have to pay stamp duty on houses costing more than £300,000. Prior to the change in April, first-time buyers did not have to pay stamp duty for properties costing below £425,000. • Business live: follow for the latest news on companies, markets and the economy However, Gardner believes that despite 'ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy,' activity is expected to pick up as the summer progresses 'since underlying conditions for potential buyers in the UK remain supportive'. He said the unemployment rate remains low, wages are rising after stripping out inflation and borrowing costs are likely to fall in the coming quarters. Other measures of Britain's housing market have illustrated a mixed picture after the expiry of a temporary discount on stamp duty for first-time buyers ended in April. Data from the Bank of England showed lenders approved more mortgages than expected in May, helped by lower interest rates. The Bank of England held interest rates at 4.25 per cent last month, and investors expect the central bank to reduce borrowing costs in two further quarter-point moves to 3.75 per cent by the end of the year. Anthony Codling, an analyst at RBC, believes that while 'the weakness in June may reflect the market adjusting to higher stamp duty costs, but the outlook seems firmer to us, real wages continue to rise, unemployment remains low, and Bank rate is likely to fall further in the coming months.' Tom Bill, head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: 'The legacy of the March stamp duty cliff edge is high supply and softer demand, which is putting downward pressure on house prices. We think there will be modest single-digit house price growth by the end of the year, but if you are planning to sell over the next few months, asking prices will need to reflect the fact that it is very much a buyers' market.'

House prices see biggest monthly fall for over two years
House prices see biggest monthly fall for over two years

BBC News

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • BBC News

House prices see biggest monthly fall for over two years

UK house prices saw their biggest monthly fall for more than two years in June, according to mortgage lender fell by 0.8% last month, the biggest monthly decline since February 2023, which the building society said may reflect weaker demand following the changes to stamp duty in the year, prices were up 2.1%, although that was the slowest annual growth rate for nearly a Nationwide said it expected activity in the housing market to pick up in the months ahead. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said the situation for many potential homebuyers remained "supportive".He noted that the unemployment rate remains low, earnings are still outpacing inflation and borrowing costs could become cheaper if the Bank of England makes further cuts to interest to stamp duty that came into effect in April mean that housebuyers in England and Northern Ireland now pay the tax on properties over £125,000, instead of over £250,000, as was the case buyers also have to pay stamp duty on homes costing more than £300,000, whereas before the April change, there was no charge unless the property was above £425, Swannell, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, noted that monthly house price changes "can be quite volatile and this has been exaggerated by April's change in stamp duty thresholds".This change distorted the market over the first half of the year, he said, as deals were rushed through at the end of March."[Since April] the housing market has been in a soft patch, but we think this will prove temporary, with the rise in May's mortgage approvals for new home purchases, which lead housing transactions, already indicating it's starting to fade."Nationwide's house price data is based on its own mortgage lending, which does not include buyers who purchase homes with cash, or buy-to-let deals. Cash buyers account for about a third of housing sales.

UK house prices fall by most since November 2022
UK house prices fall by most since November 2022

New Straits Times

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • New Straits Times

UK house prices fall by most since November 2022

LONDON: British house prices fell by 0.8 per cent in June, a sharper fall than forecast and the biggest monthly decline in more than two years, as a discount on property transactions ended, data from mortgage lender Nationwide showed on Tuesday. Economists polled by Reuters had forecast a 0.2 per cent monthly increase. For the year, house prices were 2.1 per cent higher than a year ago, below a 3.5% rise in May and lagging a consensus for a 3.1 per cent annual increase. "The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April," Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, said. "Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive." Other measures of Britain's housing market have shown a mixed picture after the expiry of a temporary tax discount scheme for first-time homebuyers ended. Bank of England data on Monday showed lenders approved more mortgages than expected in May, helped by lower borrowing costs. The BoE held interest rates at 4.25 per cent last month, and investors expect the central bank to reduce borrowing costs in two further quarter-point moves to 3.75 per cent by the end of the year.

UK house prices fall by most in more than two years
UK house prices fall by most in more than two years

The Guardian

time2 days ago

  • Business
  • The Guardian

UK house prices fall by most in more than two years

House prices in the UK fell the most in more than two years last month as demand weakened after the end of a tax break, but activity is expected to pick up over the summer. The average price of a home fell by 0.8% to £271,619 in June, after a 0.4% gain in May, according to Nationwide, Britain's biggest building society. This is the biggest monthly decline since February 2023. The annual rate of house price growth slowed to 2.1% from 3.5% in May. Northern Ireland recorded the fastest annual house price growth, of 9.7% in the second quarter, but down from 13.5% in the first quarter. Scotland posted a 4.5% annual rise, Wales a 2.6% increase and England a 2.5% rise, down from 3.3% in the first quarter. East Anglia was the region with the lowest price rises, of 1.1%. The property portal Rightmove also reported a monthly price drop, of 0.3% in June, as sellers faced the toughest competition in a decade to find buyers. Temporary stamp duty cuts in England and Northern Ireland expired in April, adding thousands of pounds to the cost of many transactions. Robert Gardner, the Nationwide chief economist, said: 'The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April. 'Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive. He noted that the unemployment rate remains low, earnings are rising at a healthy pace in real terms (after accounting for inflation), household balance sheets are strong and borrowing costs are likely to moderate a little if the Bank of England lowers interest rates further in the coming quarters as expected. Sign up to Business Today Get set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morning after newsletter promotion Financial markets have priced in a 76% probability of a quarter-point rate cut in August, and expect another reduction before the end of the year, probably in November. The north-south divide in house price performance narrowed during the second quarter. Average prices in northern England (comprising north, north-west, Yorkshire and the Humber, East Midlands and West Midlands) were up 3.1% year on year, while those in southern England (south-west, outer south-east, outer Metropolitan, London and East Anglia) rose by 2.2%. Terrace houses showed the biggest rise in prices over the past 12 months of all property types, with values up by 3.6%. For flats, price growth slowed to 0.3% from 2.3%. Semi-detached homes recorded a 3.% annual increase, while detached properties posted a 3.2% year-on-year rise.

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