The average house price in the UK rose 2.6 per cent in April 2020 on an annual basis, shows the first Office for National Statistics house price index released since its suspension in May.
In March 2020 house prices rose 3.5 per cent across the year.
The April data means that the average house price in England was £251,000, in Wales £169,000, in Scotland, £153,000 and, in Northern Ireland, £141,000.
Overall, the average UK house price came in at £235,000, £6,000 higher than in April 2019.
The North East was the only region in England to show a decrease in prices during the 12 months to April 2020, recording a 2.3 per cent decrease.
The region with the largest gains was the East Midlands, showing 4.7 per cent growth over the same time frame.
London property prices grew an average of 2.3 per cent.
Strategic Property Investing author Anna Clare Harper says: “It is worth noting that this [house price] increase is based on lower transactions data than normal. It reflects only those transactions that were able to continue in an otherwise restricted time.
“As for what next: since April, the temporary Stamp Duty holiday has encouraged many more home buyers and investors to take the plunge. Anecdotal reports suggest a frenzy in the housing market. This will feed into future data, with a time lag. As a result of such lags and the influence of temporary policy influences, it is a particularly difficult time to forecast the future.”
Barrows and Forrester managing director James Forrester adds: “Today’s index could be viewed as a tad irrelevant really given the fact that any impact of the pandemic and the resulting lockdown won’t become apparent for at least a few months yet.
“When you consider the rate at which the market has bounced back since the industry reopened, it becomes even more irrelevant, as by the time any impact does appear we will be over the hump and in a far better place.
“None the less, great to see positive movement on an annual basis and with other industry indicators all pointing to a strong return to form, we should see this positive trend continue with a slight bump in the road to account for lockdown.”
