UK house prices were unchanged in September on both monthly and annual comparisons in the Lloyds index. The average property cost 298,441 pounds after August’s monthly decline. Northern Ireland recorded strong annual growth while London and southern English regions fell. First-time buyers’ average property price remained below its February peak amid higher mortgage rates.
Economics & Markets··Evening
The national average holds after August’s decline
UK house prices were unchanged in September on both monthly and annual comparisons in the Lloyds House Price Index, a series based on approved mortgage transactions. The average standardised property price was 298,441 pounds, compared with 298,395 pounds in August. The rounded monthly change was zero after August’s 0.3 per cent decline. Over three months, the index fell 0.2 per cent.[1], [2]
Lloyds mortgages director Andrew Asaam described the market as subdued, with prices remaining resilient despite higher mortgage rates. He linked the increase in borrowing rates to changing expectations about the future path of the Bank Rate. Asaam also said household spending had held up against energy and other living-cost pressures associated with the Middle East conflict; these explanations are the bank executive’s assessment.[2]
Northern Ireland rises while London falls
Northern Ireland recorded the strongest annual increase at 7.4 per cent, taking its average price to 231,917 pounds. Scotland’s annual increase was 3.4 per cent, with an average of 223,330 pounds, while Wales rose 1.2 per cent to 231,287 pounds. Within England, prices increased 2.4 per cent in the North East and 1.9 per cent in the North West. West Midlands recorded annual growth of 0.8 per cent.[1]
London’s average price fell 2.2 per cent annually to 531,548 pounds. The South East recorded a 2.1 per cent decline to 380,829 pounds, and Eastern England fell 1.6 per cent. Regional annual movements are calculated from the latest three months of approved mortgage transaction data. The national series is seasonally adjusted and standardised to compare similar properties, while previous adjusted figures can be revised.[1], [2]
The average property price for first-time buyers was 236,779 pounds, up slightly from 236,568 pounds in August and below February’s peak of 241,244 pounds. The index was renamed from Halifax to Lloyds in July, without changing its methodology; it had already used mortgage data from both banks. The monthly series began in January 1983, and its national seasonal adjustment uses a rolling 84-month period.[1], [2]
