UK average house price dips for the first time since January

According to the report from Halifax Bank of Scotland, the average UK house price slipped by -0.5% in June, the first monthly fall since January. As a result annual house price inflation also eased back slightly from May’s 14-year high of +9.6% to stand at +8.8% in June. Average UK property price now £260,358.

Russell Galley, Managing Director, Halifax, said: "It is important to put such a moderate decrease in context, with average prices still more than £21,000 higher than this time last year, following a broadly unprecedented period of gains. With the stamp duty holiday now being phased out, it’s was predicted the market might start to lose some steam entering the latter half of the year, and it’s unlikely that those with mortgages approved in the early months of summer expected to benefit from the maximum tax break, given the time needed to complete transactions. That said, with the tapered approach, those purchasing at the current average price of £260,358 would still only pay about £500 in stamp duty at today’s rates, increasing to around £3,000 when things return to normal from the start of October. We would still expect annual growth to have slowed somewhat more by the end of the year, with unemployment expected to edge higher as job support measures unwind, and the peak of buyer demand now likely to have passed.”