- Prior +0.7%
After the 1.8% fall in house prices in 2023, we are seeing a strong uptick to start off the new year in both January and now February. This sees UK annual house price growth return to positive territory (+1.2%). Nationwide notes that:
“The decline in borrowing costs around the turn of the year appears to have prompted an uptick in the housing market. Indeed, industry data sources point to a noticeable increase in mortgage applications at the start of the year, while surveyors also reported a rise in new buyer enquiries.. Borrowing costs remain well below the highs recorded last summer but, if the recent upward trend is sustained, it threatens to restrain the pace of any housing market recovery.”