UK House Prices Rising Fastest Since 2004
UK house prices rose at their fastest rate since 2004 in June as buyers competed fiercely in a market rebounding from Covid-19 lockdowns. The average price of a property in the UK rose 13.4% in June from a year earlier to a record £242,709, Britain's biggest building society said. In the quarter to the end of June prices rose 10.3%, up from 6.3% in the first quarter of 2021. June's rate of growth was boosted by the shutdown of the property market a year earlier during the first Covid-19 lockdown but prices also rose sharply because of a buying frenzy. Households are rethinking their property needs in light of the crisis, heading for the suburbs and coastal towns for more space and cheaper prices. The market has also been charged up by Chancellor Rishi Sunak's stamp duty holiday, whose full effect ends on 30 June with some benefits lasting until October. Prices rose in all parts of the UK, led by Northern Ireland where houses sold for 14% more than a year earlier. Wales was the next strongest region. In Scotland, where the stamp duty holiday ended in March, prices rose at an annual rate of 7.1% - the weakest in the UK. In 2004, when prices were rising at a similar rate, the housing market was recovering from the Iraq war and heading for the financial crisis that caused Northern Rock to implode.
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