House Prices At A Record High, Says Halifax
The average UK house price reached a record high last month, according to Halifax.
The UK's largest mortgage lender said the average price hit £293,999 in October, surpassing a peak of £293,507 that was reached in June 2022.
Halifax said it expected prices to continue to rise at a "modest pace" for the next few months. However, it warned that mortgage costs could remain "higher for longer" following last week's Budget.
Following the Budget, which included plans to borrow and spend billions of pounds, financial markets expect the Bank of England to cut rates more slowly than previously anticipated.
The Bank cut its key rate to 4.75% from 5% as expected on Thursday. Following its decision, Bank governor Andrew Bailey said that interest rates would "continue to fall gradually from here”.
However, he cautioned that "we can’t cut interest rates too quickly or by too much" in order to keep inflation close to its 2% target.
Halifax said house prices edged up by 0.2% in October, meaning property values have now increased for four months in a row.
House prices are up 3.9% from a year earlier, Halifax said, which is a slight decrease from the 4.6% annual increase seen in September.