UK house prices rose again in April, extending the longest run of monthly increases in six years, but rising interest rates and squeezed household budgets would cool the market over the next year.
The average cost of a home rose by 1.1% in April, the 10th consecutive monthly rise in the longest run since 2016, to a record high of £286,079.
The price of the average property is up 10.8% on the same month last year, with homeowners enjoying an almost £50,000 increase in the price of their property over the last two years.
On Thursday, the Bank of England raised interest rates from 0.75% to 1% to tackle increasing inflation, which is expected to rise above 10% this year, the highest level since 1982, as home energy bills are expected to jump again in October.
Northern Ireland has overtaken the south-west of England as the UK’s strongest performer in terms of house price rises, up 14.9% year on year to £182,565. The average property in the south-west rose at 14.8% to an average of £301,632. Wales rose 14.2% to £214,396, an all-time high, while Scotland’s slower growth rate of 8.3% still reached a new record average of £196,471. Greater London continues to show the slowest rate of growth at 6.2%. However, it also has the highest-priced houses in the UK at an average of £537,896.