Mini house-buying boom results in highest ever monthly price

House prices hit their highest ever monthly price in July as the property market steadily reopened after the coronavirus lockdown restrictions put it on pause.

According to the latest Halifax House Price Index the average price of a home was £241,604 throughout July, 1.7% higher than June’s £237,834.

It has been reported that prices are 3.8% higher than July 2019.

Russell Galley, Halifax’s managing director, said pent-up demand and a lack of available houses had contributed together to push up prices.

He also reported that the government’s cut in stamp duty has boosted buyers’ enthusiasm after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced a temporary stamp duty on property sales up to £500,000 in England and Northern Ireland.

These latest figures released by Halifax mirror the recent figures released by the Nationwide Building Society which reported house prices bouncing back in July, increasing 1.7% throughout the month.

“The latest data adds to the emerging view that the market is experiencing a surprising spike post lockdown,” said Mr Galley.

But he warned that while the prospects for the housing market were brighter than might have been expected three months ago, the effects of the pandemic were still creating a great deal of long-term uncertainty.

“As government support measures come to an end, the resulting impact on the macroeconomic environment, and in turn the housing market, will start to become more apparent,” he added.

This view was echoed by Anna Clare Harper, author of Strategic Property Review, who said that the Halifax findings reflected current confidence in the economy:

“What we can’t forecast is what happens next: economically, and in policy.

“What we can predict accurately is that these two factors will prove fundamental to the future of the UK housing market.”, she said.

Another property specialist, Tomer Aboody, director of MT Finance the Bridging Finance Lender, called on the government to consider further stamp duty relief on properties selling for more than £500,000 as he stressed the importance of the sector to the UK economy.

“Now more than ever the housing industry should be looked upon as the foundation upon which to keep the UK working.”

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