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House Prices Reach Record High But Market Shows Signs Of Slowing

For the third month in a row, house prices have reached a record high, but a mix of these prices, low availability of properties and the looming end of the long-term stamp duty holiday have started to make their presence felt.

According to Rightmove’s House Price Index, the average price of homes coming to market stood at £336,073, the highest since records began. However, the rate of increase has slowed to 0.8 per cent, compared to 1.8 per cent the month before.

According to Hackney estate agents, the current average price of £651,246 is an increase of 2.65 per cent over the past three months and highlights that the slowing market primarily affects homes worth less than £500,000.

Several reasons have been suggested for why this is the case, and a large part of it is availability. Estate agents have found that their stock of available properties is at an all-time low, and the stamp duty holiday’s maximum saving ends at the end of June.

At the top of the market, on the other hand, there has still been a lot of activity, with the number of sales agreed up by nearly half (49 per cent) compared to the same time in 2019.

As well as this, people have been relocating to other regions to get more home for their money, which has seen prices in Wales increase by nearly 15 per cent since March 2020, and prices in the South West increasing by over 11 per cent since the beginning of the lockdown.