Halifax House Price Index October 2018

Brian Murphy, Head of Lending for Mortgage Advice Bureau comments on the Halifax House Price Index (September data):

“The report released by the Halifax this morning suggests that whilst the annualised figure for house price growth rose in September, there was a slight month on month average drop in values. So although at topline level, whilst the market appears to be performing well within market expectations, the headline figure does somewhat mask what’s going on under the waterline. As has been the case since the start of 2018, a two-tier market is still very much in place, with areas such as the East and West Midlands and Yorkshire and the Humber seeing very buoyant markets with deals being agreed within weeks, if not days in some of the more requested areas. However in London and its commuter belt, most discretionary movers are currently taking a ‘wait and see’ approach in terms of the current economic and political climate, leaving only those for whom a move is essential to transact. This is impacting both stock levels and prices.

On the positive side, lenders have, for the most part, retained their competitive pricing since the Bank of England raised rates in August. This means borrowing costs are still relatively low and there are good deals available for anyone buying or remortgaging. As we enter into the Autumn market, which is normally one of the busiest seasons of the year, and with lenders very much ‘open for business’, we’ll have to wait and see how many would-be buyers and sellers who are currently sat on the fence decide to take advantage of the current rates and decide to get their transaction in progress before Christmas.”