In July 2024, the England and Wales housing market showed a slight decline, with the average sale price of a home decreasing by approximately £500 (0.1%) to £360,630. This minor downturn pauses the incremental gains seen in the preceding months.

This is according to the latest e.surv Acadata House Price Index which also reveals that the annual change in house prices, showing a decrease of 1.3%, marks the most robust performance since June 2023

According to e.surve this represents a significant improvement from the nearly 4% annual declines experienced in previous months. It suggests that the market has weathered the most challenging conditions, which peaked in late 2023, and is now on a gradual, albeit uneven, recovery path.

Regionally, the housing market has seen positive annual price movement across all parts of England and Wales. The North East and North West are leading with the highest year-on-year price increases, while the South West and Wales have also shown notable improvements.

As e.surv director Richard Sexton points out prices may still be nearly 5% off the previous peak reached in October 2022, but he  suggests that the most negative market conditions are now well and truly behind us. The low point was in late 2023 and an upward trend, albeit faltering, has been evident since.

“Prices in July were just 1.3% below a year earlier. This is the strongest performance since June 2023 and a considerable improvement on the year-on-year falls of nearly 4% seen in previous months.”

Notably 1.3% year-on-year decrease in house prices seen across England and Wales in July would shrink to 1.0% if London and the South East were excluded from the calculation. For some while it has been the South East region rather than the capital that has been the most significant drag on the performance of the overall market. For July, the early indications are that London actually helped to boost overall price growth nationally for the first time in more than two years.

Looking ahead, Sexton added: “Wage growth and lower inflation are expected to make mortgage costs more affordable relative to incomes. On the supply side, the government’s commitment to mandatory building targets and an increased output goal of 370,000 homes per annum signals a clear direction towards enhancing housing supply, though this will take time to materialise.”