Surprise House Price Increase in October

The Nationwide Property Index has delivered a surprise increase in house prices in the UK for the month of October 2023 of 0.9% following an increase in September 2023 of 0.1%.

Remember, these were only monthly increases with average prices still falling over the year of -3.3% (-5.3% in September).

The average UK house price in October is now £259,423, an increase from £257,808 in September.

Downward pressure still prevails due to the cost of living squeeze and higher interest rate to combat inflation meaning mortgages are less afforadble.

Nationwide put the increase down to a lack of availability/supply of properties on the market.  Limited supply for any commodity will naturally push prices up as demand outstrips supply.

Comment

If we seasonally adjusted the above figures (to take increased summer demand out), we would likely see that property prices are still falling.  We and most commentators still expect house prices to fall around 5% in 2024 until interest rates start to come down, perhaps in Summer or Autumn 2024.

That said, do not feel down.  The average house price in 2019 was £215,368 and is now £259,423, so if you owned property in 2019, you are likely to still be up 20.45%.