Relaunched House Price Index – Group CEO comments in FT Adviser

Average UK house prices fell by 0.2% between March and April 2020, according to the latest official UK House Price Index.

This contrasted with the 0.7% monthly increase recorded during the same period the previous year and reflected the significant disruption caused to the property market by the COVID-19 pandemic.

On an annual basis, house prices remained 2.6% higher in April 2020, with the average UK property valued at £234,612. However, annual growth had slowed from 3.5% in the year to March.

The index, published on 19 August, was the first release since May after publication was temporarily suspended due to the impact of the pandemic on housing transaction data.

Transaction activity fell sharply during the period. HMRC estimated that the seasonally adjusted number of residential property transactions valued at £40,000 or more fell to 41,960 in April, compared with 94,230 in March.

The figures demonstrated the immediate impact of lockdown restrictions on the UK housing market, with reduced transaction volumes making it more difficult to assess underlying property price movements.

Buyers in England and Northern Ireland were also able to benefit from the temporary increase in the Stamp Duty threshold from £125,000 to £500,000, which provided potential tax savings on eligible property purchases until March 2021.