13m ago Introduction: UK house prices dip for first time since March; Next warns of slowing sales growth in 2025 Here’s some instant reaction to the Halifax house price data. Tom Bill , head of UK residential research at Knight Frank, said: The current rate of house price growth will come under more pressure as higher borrowing costs triggered by the budget start to bite. A number of buyers are still sitting on sub-4% mortgage offers made before October, which has supported demand in recent months.
Activity has also been temporarily boosted ahead of April’s stamp duty increase but a recent dip in mortgage approvals is a sign that cracks from the Budget are starting to show. We recently revised down our UK house price forecast for 2025 to 2.5% to reflect the tougher lending landscape and the fact economic growth is struggling to gain momentum.
Anthony Codling , housing analyst at RBC Capital Markets, noted that house prices rose by nearly £10,000 over 2024. The fall in December ended a run of five consecutive monthly increases, but with wages expected to rise and mortgage rates to reduce in 2025 we expect house prices to rise in 2025. The Stamp Duty stampede is likely to underpin prices in the first three months of the year, before the house price baton will be passed onto mortgage rates.
There remains uncertainty around the broader macroeconomic outlook, but demand for homes continues to outstrip supply and our love affair with homeownership has not been dented by rising.
