House prices accelerated to 8.4% in August, led by gains in eastern and southern England.
The UK housing market continues to shrug off Brexit woes as reflected by the latest official home price figures which show that residential property prices have continued to increase strongly since the EU vote – driven by house price growth in the East and South East of England.
Newly released data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) reveal that the annual rise in UK property prices accelerated to 8.4% in August, led by a 13.3% rise in the East of England, followed by increases of 12.2% in the South East of England and 12.1% in London.
The average price of a home in the UK was almost £219,000 in August, up £17,000 on the corresponding month last year and £3,000 higher than the previous month.
The average price of a home in England rose by 9.2% to £236,000, house prices in Wales are up 2.7% to £145,000, while Scottish property price rose by an average of 4.3% over the year to stand at £145,000. The average price in Northern Ireland is currently £123,000.
Unsurprisingly, London remains the region with the highest average property price at £489,000, followed by the South East and the East of England, which stand at £318,000 and £277,000 respectively.
The lowest average price continues to be in the North East at £127,000.
However, the data, which gives a detailed analysis of the UK property market for the second full month following the EU referendum, reveals a mixed housing picture to put it mildly.
While home prices have continued to grow strongly across some parts of the country, transaction volumes still lag behind levels recorded during previous years.
The figures reveal that the volume of transactions in England is down by 32.2% in England, 27.1% in Wales and 46.7% in London.
The housing market indicators, including mortgage lending and new buyer activity, not to mention a softening buy-to-let market, are somewhat weaker than 2015 and earlier this year, but for now the residential property market remains relatively stable.
We at ProeprtyPriceAdvice.co.uk forecast that average UK house price growth for 2016 will be around 5.5% but signs are that property prices will slow next year, with falls widely anticipated in some parts of the country as a consequence of the market slowdown, along with slower economic growth.
Inflationary pressure will potentially squeeze household incomes and spending over the coming months and this will undoubtedly have an adverse impact on house prices as many prospective purchasers look to haggle down asking prices.