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Official: UK house price growth slows

Christina Hoghton
Written By:
Christina Hoghton
Posted:
Updated:
18/04/2018

UK property prices have fallen on a monthly basis, plus the annual rate of growth has slowed as London pulls down the average

Average house prices in the UK were up by 4.4% in the year to February 2018, according to figures from the Office for National Statistics, taking the typical UK house price was £225,000 in February 2018.

This was a fall from the 4.7% annual growth recorded the previous month, and prices were down 0.1% between January and bruary 2018.

The annual growth rate pf average UK proerpty prices has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained generally under 5% throughout 2017 and into 2018.

London falling

This fall in UK house price growth is driven mainly by a decrease in London prices, said the ONS, which fell 1.0% in the year to February 2018.

The West Midlands showed the highest annual growth, with prices increasing by 7.3% in the year to February 2018. This was followed by the East Midlands (6.3%).

Ishaan Malhi, CEO of online mortgage broker Trussle: “The slowdown in house price growth across many areas of the UK is no doubt offering some relief to anyone gearing up to buy their first home. We’re also finally beginning to see wages pick up pace, which should be a confidence booster for first-time buyers.

“This group also needs to bear in mind, though, that there’s a possibility we’ll see two interest rate rises this year. This will impact how much money a new buyer can borrow and could also increase the cost of their monthly mortgage repayments.”