November\u2019s average UK price remained at \u00a3299,892, unchanged on the month, with annual growth at +0.7%, with Halifax describing 2025 as \u201cone of the most stable years for the housing market over the last decade\u201d, and it noted that values \u201cremained steady\u201d even as activity slowed before the Budget announcement.<\/p>\n
There were some marked regional variations. In the North West, prices rose by 3.2% year-on-year, in Yorkshire and the Humber they were up 1.8%, in the East Midlands by 1.4% and in the West Midlands they went up by 1.3%. In contrast, London recorded a yearly fall of \u20131.0%, with small declines also reported in the South East and Eastern England.<\/p>\n
Amanda Bryden, Head of Mortgages, Halifax, adds: \u201cComparing property prices to average incomes, affordability is now at its strongest since late 2015. Taking into account today\u2019s higher interest rates, mortgage costs as a share of income are at their lowest level in around three years.<\/p>\n
\u201cLooking ahead, with market activity steady and expectations of further interest rate reductions to come, we anticipate property prices will continue to grow gradually into 2026.\u201d<\/p>\n
Reacting to the report, estate agents have hailed the remarkable stability of the market but say the hiatus is now over and are reporting a strong bounce-back in buying activity. First-time purchasers are returning in significant numbers as mortgage options improve, and searches and enquiries have increased significantly as buyers who paused in November resume their pre-Budget plans.<\/p>\n
Amy Reynolds, head of sales at Richmond estate agents Antony Roberts, said the shift was immediate. \u201cOur Saturday diaries are full for all our offices, and our most expensive properties have had a new lease of life with viewings booked for most of them and even a second viewing on one already.<\/p>\n
\u201cThere is more optimism and a feeling of relief now that the Budget is over. Fixed-rate mortgages are slowly heading towards 3.5 per cent, and there are better options available, including cashback offers for first-time buyers.\u201d<\/p>\n
She also adds that after a quieter run-up to the Budget, \u201cwe have seen some good houses this week with immediate instructions\u201d, indicating sellers are also re-engaging.<\/p>\n
Former RICS residential chairman, and north London estate Jeremy Leaf, says: \u201cWhile some worried about Budget measures and put plans on hold. Fortunately, enough buyers and sellers have confidence in the longer-term prospects of the housing market and continue with their plans regardless.<\/p>\n
\u201cWith inflation appearing to have peaked and the direction of travel for interest rates set to be downward in the coming months, there are brighter times ahead.”<\/p>\n
And Iain McKenzie, CEO of The Guild of Property Professionals, says: \u201cNow that the Budget uncertainty has passed, we expect both buyers and sellers to re-engage with renewed confidence.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll eyes are on the upcoming interest rate announcement. If the Bank of England moves to reduce the rate later this month, that would provide a welcome boost heading into the key spring 2026 selling season.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The latest Halifax House Price Index shows that house prices held firm ahead of the Autumn Budget. November\u2019s average UK price remained at \u00a3299,892, unchanged on the month, with annual growth at +0.7%, with Halifax describing 2025 as \u201cone of the most stable years for the housing market over the last decade\u201d, and it noted… Read more »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4233,"featured_media":6106882,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[765,6],"tags":[27,763],"class_list":["post-6106879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-property-investment","category-uk-housing-market","tag-housing-market","tag-market-update"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4233"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6106879"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106879\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":6106884,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6106879\/revisions\/6106884"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6106882"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6106879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=6106879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.buyassociationgroup.com\/en-gb\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=6106879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}