UK house prices surge to record high – Enness in Yahoo! Finance

UK house prices hit a new all-time high in August after the biggest monthly rise since 2004, according to new figures from Nationwide.

The average home sold for £224,123 ($299,828) in August, up 2% from £220,935 in July. stamp duty holiday

It provides the latest sign of the mini-boom in Britain’s property market in recent months, with pent-up demand after lockdown and a temporary stamp duty holiday fuelling growth in sales and prices.

UK house prices hit a new all-time high in August after the biggest monthly rise since 2004, according to new figures from Nationwide.

The average home sold for £224,123 ($299,828) in August, up 2% from £220,935 in July.

It provides the latest sign of the mini-boom in Britain’s property market in recent months, with pent-up demand after lockdown and a temporary stamp duty holiday  fuelling growth in sales and prices.

Approvals were only 10% below February levels, and more than seven times higher than the 9,300 mortgages signed off in May in the wake of national lockdown and lenders prioritising efforts to help existing mortgage customers.

UK chancellor Rish Sunak announced a temporary stamp duty holiday on purchases under £500,000 ($671,000) in England and Northern Ireland in early July. The threshold had previously been £125,000, albeit with higher thresholds for first-time buyers.

The finance minister said at the time the measures would “catalyse the housing market and boost confidence,” as the government battles to drag the country out of a deep recession.

Hugh Wade-Jones, managing director of brokers Enness Global Mortgages, said this week the tax cuts had “turbo-charged” the market.

Lettings have lagged behind the sales boom, but separate figures from property firm Knight Frank on Tuesday also showed viewings for lettings had hit a ten-year high in London and the Home Counties at the end of August.

The company said students had driven the surge in demand, as uncertainty over starting university mid-pandemic and the recent controversial release of exam results delayed accommodation decisions.

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