Halifax House Price Index Now Up Again

Last week we reported the biggest house price falls in 10 years from the Nationwide Building Society UK House Prices Report.  Admittedly, the fall was only 1.1% in February 2023 with the average value at £257,406 down from £258,297 in January 2023 and £273,751 in August 2022.

This week, the Halifax has reported that according to their Property Index, house prices have grown by 1.1% in February 2023 with the average value now at £285,476.  Most of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all saw rises with the exception of London being down 0.9% on the year.

This may be down to increased property activity according to Rightmove with more buyers coming back to the market as mortgage interest rates have fallen back from their Autumn highs.

Why is the Halifax Property Index different to Nationwide’s?

Usually both Halifax’s index and Nationwide’s index follow similar upward and downward trends although average prices will differ because the representative properties that each index tracks are marginally different.

Comment

Despite the headlines, the differences in the indices are small at 1-2%, so in reality, property prices are stable at present rather than climbing ever higher or crashing.  We expect house prices to fall as further interest rises are on their way with mortgage lenders already toughening up again by increasing borrowing rates.