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House prices rose 3% in the year to March
The current lockdown means all bets are off for house price growth in 2020, but there had been green shoots in the first quarter of the year
House prices in March were 3% higher than in the same month a year earlier, according to Halifax.
The lender said that prices were stable between February and March, with the average UK property price at £240,384.
In the first quarter of 2020, house prices were 2.1% higher than in the final quarter of 2019.
The data is mainly taken from before the coronavirus restrictions were introduced, and the housing market is now effectively on hold.
Russell Galley, managing director, of Halifax, said: “The UK housing market began March with similar trends to previous months, as key market indicators showed a sustained level of buyer and seller activity. Overall average house prices in the month were little changed from February’s record high, while annual growth nudged up to 3%.
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“These factors all underlined a positive trajectory and increased momentum in the early part of the year, with confidence rising as political and economic uncertainty eased.
However, it’s clear we ended the month in very different territory as a result of the country’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.
“It’s still too early to properly assess what potential long-term impacts the current lockdown might have on the UK housing market. While there is very significant uncertainty at the moment, much will depend on the length of time it takes for restrictions to be lifted, the pressure that has been exerted on the economy in the meantime and the effect this has on consumer sentiment.”
Director of Benham and Reeves, Marc von Grundherr, added:“It’s important that we keep a positive view and while this may be hard at present, any impact to the market should only be prevalent for the duration of our current lockdown.
A freeze on both the side of buyers and sellers should also help reduce any immediate decline to price growth and this will be a short-term adjustment at worst.
“We can rest assured that once the market does spring back into action, the green shoots of strong growth seen earlier in the year will start to bloom and the outlook will be much brighter.”