The latest data on house prices has revealed the cost of a home in the UK has reached a new record high.
Figures from the Office for National Statistics have indicated that the average UK house price stood at £283,000 in May this year, up 12.8 per cent on a year ago.
This figure represents an uptick from April, when the annual figure was 11.9 per cent.
Anyone keen to sell their home for what could be a significantly larger amount than they paid for it may have good reasons to speak to independent estate agents in Leicester; the East Midlands saw the second strongest price growth in the UK at around 15 per cent, a figure beaten only by the South West of England and almost twice as strong as the 8.2 per cent recorded in London.
Although the increase in the City of Leicester itself was a relatively modest 9.7 per cent, the surrounding county performed more in line with the regional average at 14.8 per cent.
Indeed, of local authority areas bordering Leicester, Charnwood enjoyed a 13.8 per cent increase, Oadby and Wigston prices rose 14.2 per cent, Blaby was up 14.4 per cent and Harborough an extraordinary 22.7 per cent, the third highest increase in England behind South Hams and North Warwickshire.
Those who do want to sell their homes may be wise to do so swiftly, as many experts believe the property market cannot go on defying gravity at a time when the economy is under pressure from inflation and interest rates have been rising, albeit starting from an historically low base.
The prospect of further base rate rises is very real. Speaking at the Mansion House in London, Bank of England governor Andrew Bailey noted that the Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) has made public its resolve to “act forcefully” against any strengthening of inflationary pressures.
Such a determination, he noted, means a 0.5 per cent increase is an option – though not a certainty – at the next MPC meeting.
