House prices hit a record high of £250,200 in April 2022, according to Zoopla.

That’s a rise of 8.4% over the last year and a 0.2% rise compared to March.

But the property portal said the market is showing signs of slowing, as homes take longer to sell and more asking prices are reduced.

Both the time taken to sell a home and the number of properties selling for a discount has increased. Zoopla said that, while the rate at which property values are rising is likely to ease during the rest of the year, house prices are not expected to fall.

Regional splits

Wales saw the strongest price gains for the 15th consecutive month, with property values rising by 11.6%.

It was followed by the South West at 10.5% and the East Midlands at 10.2%.

At the other end of the scale, London continued to lag behind other regions, posting growth of just 3.6%.

Gráinne Gilmore, head of research at Zoopla, said: “Given the number of homeowners on fixed-rate mortgages, which protect them against interest rate rises in the short to medium-term, the stress tests carried out on those loans, and the healthy employment market, we are not expecting a raft of forced sales in 2022, which is usually the trigger for price falls.”

Peter Beaumont, CEO of The Mortgage Lender, added: “Current price rises are being driven by demand in the housing market outweighing adequate supply, meaning we’re unlikely to see the prophesised slowdown just yet.

“For those looking to get onto the market, or re-mortgage shopping around and looking beyond traditional lenders and considering other options that might better suit their individual circumstances could be help support their property ambitions.”