Wider market housing activity from other sources is also included in Halifax’s report, showing promising signs of recovery. According to HMRC monthly property transaction data, UK home sales increased in April compared to the month before. Seasonally adjusted residential transactions totalled 90,430, up by 4.6% on March’s number. Year-on-year transactions were 9.8% higher (SA).
Bank of England data shows the number of mortgages approved to finance house purchases was up annually by 25.8%
Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, said: “Market activity remained resilient throughout the spring months, supported by strong nominal wage growth and some evidence of an improvement in confidence about the economic outlook. This has been reflected in a broadly stable picture in terms of property price movements, with the average cost of a property little changed over the last three months.
“A period of relative stability in both house prices and interest rates should give a degree of confidence to both buyers and sellers. While homebuyers and those remortgaging will continue to respond to changes in borrowing costs, set against a backdrop of a limited supply of available properties, the market is unlikely to see huge fluctuations in the near term.”
To find out more about the UK property market, take a look at our buy-to-let area guides covering topics such as available investment property in Hartlepool and available investment property in Maidstone.
