House prices hit record high in September

UK house prices rose 11.7% on the year in September to a record average high of £270,000, as buyers rushed to get deals done before the end of the Stamp Duty holiday, according to data from the Office for National Statistics.
Price growth was up compared to August, when it came in at 10.2%.

The unadjusted official house price index rose by 2.5% on the month in September, while on a seasonally-adjusted basis, prices rose 2.6%.

London continued to be the region with the lowest annual growth, at 2.8%, for the tenth consecutive month.

Gabriella Dickens, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “House price growth picked up further in September, largely because buyers rushed to complete purchases ahead of the return of the Stamp Duty Land Tax threshold to £125K at the start of October, from £250K.

“Housing demand, however, also remains strong due to Covid-19, which has prompted people to seek larger homes away from the main cities. House price growth for detached properties, 13.8%, was far stronger than for flats, 6.5%.

“The likely upcoming rise in mortgage rates on the back of the recent rise in markets’ expectations for Bank Rate, however, will dampen house price growth.”