Latest figures from two of the UK’s biggest lenders show that house prices across the UK are broadly steady, with only small changes in June. This, along with more homes now available for sale, suggests that the market remains stable as we move into the summer months.
The Halifax House Price Index reports that the average house price in June remained unchanged at £296,665. The lender also reported a minor uplift in average values when compared with the previous quarter of 0.3%, while annual house price growth stands at 2.5%, which is a slight drop from May, when the year-on-year increase was 2.6%.
Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages for the Halifax commented, “The market’s resilience continues to stand out and, after a brief slowdown following the spring stamp duty changes, mortgage approvals and property transactions have both picked up, with more buyers returning to the market. That’s being helped by a few key factors: wages are still rising, which is easing some of the pressure on affordability, and interest rates have stabilised in recent months, giving people more confidence to plan ahead.”
She continued, “Of course, challenges remain. Affordability is still stretched, particularly for those coming to the end of fixed-rate deals. The economic backdrop also remains uncertain; while inflation has eased, it’s still above target, and there are signs the job market may be softening.”
The latest Nationwide House Price Index reports a slightly different picture and points to a monthly reduction in average house prices of 0.8% when compared with May. Nationwide also suggests that annual change sits at 2.1%, lower than the 3.5% annual change cited in June 2024, with the current average UK house price now sitting at £271,619.
Commenting on the figures, Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s Chief Economist says, “UK house price growth slowed to 2.1% in June, from 3.5% in May. Prices declined by 0.8% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal effects. The softening in price growth may reflect weaker demand following the increase in stamp duty at the start of April. Nevertheless, we still expect activity to pick up as the summer progresses, despite ongoing economic uncertainties in the global economy, since underlying conditions for potential homebuyers in the UK remain supportive.
When it comes to sales, the latest HMRC Residential Transaction statistics point to a normalisation of completion numbers, following the spike in sales in March this year to beat the Stamp Duty changes for first time buyers in England which came into effect on 1st April. HMRC’s non-seasonally adjusted figures estimate that the number of UK homes sold in May was 80,530 which while 13% lower than May 2024, is a 42% increase on April 2025.
Confidence is also steady in terms of mortgages, with lenders reporting that demand for secured lending for property purchases increased in Q2, according to the Bank of England Credit Conditions Survey published on 3rd July. Threadneedle Street also anticipates that demand will increase over the next three months. So what does all this mean for movers? Quite simply, there’s now more choice, as there are currently more properties available for sale and listed on the top three UK property portals than at any time in the last ten years. That choice means that those who have perhaps wanted to move for some time but haven’t been able to find what they are looking for now potentially have a better opportunity over the summer to find a property which suits their needs.