The real estate industry’s reaction to the latest Halifax House Price Index showing that house price growth cooled by -0.5% in June, although they remains 8.8% higher than this time last year.
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Commentary On The Latest Halifax House Price Index
Matthew Cooper, Founder & Managing Director of Yes Homebuyers commented:
“Cracks are starting to appear across the UK property market and the unsustainable rates of house price growth seen since the introduction of the stamp duty holiday are starting to give way to negative movement.
This is hardly surprising given the quick-fix nature of the government’s approach. Rather than addressing the housing crisis head-on, they’ve once again chosen to stimulate prices in the short term by increasing the imbalance between supply and demand, so that when the dust settles there are at least some positive indicators of economic performance during the pandemic.”
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, commented:
“It’s only natural that the market should pause for breath after what has been an extremely prolonged period of heightened house price growth. A marginal dip in the monthly rate of growth is certainly nothing to worry about and simply doesn’t signal the start of a market crash.
In fact, we’re seeing many areas of the market start to build momentum as we ease further and further away from the lockdown restricted life we’ve been living for the last year and a half.
Many are now starting to return to the workplace and foreign interest is also starting to build despite ongoing travel restrictions. You only have to look at London to see this slow but steady recovery in action. While the capital continues to lag behind much of the UK, the foundations being laid now will ensure that any impact due to the end of the stamp duty holiday is minimal, and house prices continue to climb throughout the remainder of the year and into the next.”
Managing Director of Barrows and Forrester, James Forrester, commented:
“What goes up, inevitably comes down again and it’s simply unrealistic to expect house prices to continue climbing at such an unheard-of rate forever. Of course, the tapered end of the stamp duty holiday will bring about a natural market correction, but the proof in the pudding is the annual rate of growth which sits at nearly nine per cent.
The market remains in a very strong position and while we may see the rate of growth continue to cool, this is a world away from a substantial drop in market values.”
