UK sees unexpected house price rises in April

House prices were unexpectedly seen to rise in April after several months of decline said the Nationwide Building Society.

The average house price was seen to increase by 0.5 per cent in the UK in April.  This was reported today, May 2, despite economists’ predictions that prices would continue to fall.

Nationwide is predicting a mini-resurgence in the market as reported by the BBC, as mortgage rates begin to reduce.

Liz Truss‘s August 2022 mini-budget increased borrowing costs but as the Financial Times reported on Twitter: “UK house prices rise unexpectedly in April as borrowing costs ease”.

UK house prices rise unexpectedly in April as borrowing costs ease https://t.co/miQcdQ6E1A

— Financial Times (@FT) May 2, 2023

A month after the mini-budget, then Chancellor of the Exchequer Kwasi Kwarteng promised a series of large tax cuts, without explaining where the money would come from. This affected financial markets and mortgage rates rose to a 14-year high.  

The average cost of a UK home rose to £260,441 in April, with the housing market finally settling down after some reckless economical management by Truss’s short-lived government.

These rises present an obstacle for first-time buyers, but also for your average Brit, whose supermarket and energy bills have soared since the pandemic. At the end of the day, your house is only worth what people are willing to pay for it.

And the forecast is not altogether rosy, as Samuel Mather-Holgate, from Mather and Murray Financial, explained to the BBC:

“The housing market always sees a boost in the spring, but don’t confuse this data with the green shoots of recovery.  The annual figure is still down, and this is expected to get worse over the next few months, especially if the central bank increases rates again this month.”