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Official: house prices dipped 0.7% in October

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
18/12/2019

The figures reflect the market before the general election, and property pundits say the bounceback has already started since Boris’ decisive win

The average price of a property in the UK was £232,944 in October, according to the Office for National Statistics, a fall of 0.7% compared to September.

However, prices were still 0.7% higher than in October 2018, down from 1.3% in September.

House price growth was strongest in Northern Ireland where prices increased by 4.0% over the year to Quarter 3 (July to September) 2019.

The lowest annual growth was in London, where prices fell by 1.6% over the year to October 2019, followed by the North East where prices fell by 1.1% over the year.

Boris bounce?

Property experts said the index reflects the pre-election housing market, and reckon a ‘Boris bounce’ will now start to filter through into the official figures, as homebuyers and sellers show renewed confidence in the market.

Lucy Pendleton, founder director of estate agents James Pendleton, said: “Not yet visible is the Boris bounce in house prices we all sense is already well underway. The UK house price index has well and truly been overtaken by events.

“The UK is certainly experiencing a resurgence in activity but we won’t know for a couple of months whether, on balance, this will begin to push prices higher or whether greater supply will have a moderating influence while brokers and agents enjoy a pick-up in volumes.

“New enquiries for property picked up the day of the election result and foreign buyers are matching their domestic counterparts for renewed enthusiasm.”

Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, agreed that the election result would prove a turning point. He said: “While the recent election result will have brought a degree of certainty to the market, it will take some time to reverse the negative house price trends of the last few years.

“While we should see an immediate boost in buyer and seller activity come January, it will take a few months before this filters through to the ground and house prices return to their usual buoyant rate of growth.

“Until that point, the market remains resolute and while we are unlikely to see any miracle turnaround this side of the New Year, we continue to see property values edge up despite the turbulence of Brexit and the wider political landscape.”