The price of a typical home in the UK rose by 1% between March and April, according to the latest figures from the Nationwide House Price Index.
The index shows the average price of a UK home has risen from £189,454 to £193,048.
It’s the largest monthly increase seen since June 2014 and has resulted in the first rise in the pace of annual house price growth for seven months, edging up from 5.1% to 5.2%.
House price growth
Here’s how prices have changed over the past 12 months, according to the Nationwide House Price Index.
|
Monthly change % (seasonally adjusted) |
Annual % change |
Average house price |
|
|
April 2014 |
1.2% |
10.9% |
£183,577 |
|
May 2014 |
0.7% |
11.1% |
£186,512 |
|
June 2014 |
1.0% |
11.8% |
£188,903 |
|
July 2014 |
0.2% |
10.6% |
£188,949 |
|
August 2014 |
0.8% |
11.0% |
£189,306 |
|
September 2014 |
-0.1% |
9.4% |
£188,374 |
|
October 2014 |
0.6% |
9.0% |
£189,333 |
|
November 2014 |
0.3% |
8.5% |
£189,388 |
|
December 2014 |
0.2% |
7.2% |
£188,559 |
|
January 2015 |
0.3% |
6.8% |
£188,446 |
|
February 2015 |
-0.1% |
5.7% |
£187,964 |
|
March 2015 |
0.1% |
5.1% |
£189,454 |
|
April 2015 |
1.0% |
5.2% |
£193,048 |
Source: Nationwide
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What’s behind the rise?
[SPOTLIGHT]Nationwide says the shift is surprising as the pace of activity in the housing market has remained fairly subdued.
The number of mortgage approvals for example is still well below the long running average and 20% below the levels recorded in early 2014.
Nationwide’s Chief Economist Robert Gardner said it’s possible the uncertainty ahead of the general election may be weighing on activity, though there’s no evidence from previous UK elections to suggest a strong impact.
He says healthy labour market conditions and continued low mortgage rates should help strengthen housing demand going forward.
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