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Slowdown in house price growth in October

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
16/12/2016

The average price of a property in the UK inched up in October by 0.1% to £216,674, according to the Office for National Statistics’ UK House Price Index.

House price inflation reached 6.9% in the year to October, down from 7% in the 12 months to September.

Prices in London fell by 1.2% over the month, despite recording a 7.7% rise in the 12 months to October. The cost of the average property in London is still the highest in the UK, setting buyers back an average of £474,000.

In the North East house prices plummeted by 2.4% from September to October and grew by just 0.8% annually to reach an average price of £118,802.

Alex Gosling, CEO, online estate agents HouseSimple.com, said: “House prices have noticeably cooled, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing after the unsustainable double digit growth we witnessed earlier in the year.

“London’s stalling market will be a major concern though, with the recent stamp duty changes hitting sales at the top end, and if you took these figures in isolation it could be panic stations for the UK market as a whole.

“But the UK market isn’t just about London anymore, and we are seeing some impressive growth in the regions, particularly in the East and South East of England.”

Richard Connolly, CEO of Rentplus, added that property prices were still beyond the reach of many: “Despite Brexit and the accompanying economic uncertainty, people continue to aspire to achieve the dream of homeownership.

“Sadly today’s data reinforces the fact that this dream remains beyond the reach of many. It shows that the affordability of housing is fundamentally a national issue not just a problem for Londoners and is complicated by the lack of supply.”