June 2023: Strong demand for housing in the face of limited supply

Thu 01 Jun 2023

The latest release of the Nationwide House Price Index shows that UK house prices rose by 2.1% in April 2023 compared to the previous month, the highest monthly increase since June 2014. Year-on-year house price growth has also accelerated to 9.3%, up from 7.1% in March 2023, driven by strong demand for properties and a shortage of homes for sale.

Meanwhile, the latest release of the Halifax House Price Index shows that UK house prices increased by 2.3% in April 2023 compared to March 2023, the largest monthly rise since September 2022. Year-on-year house price growth also accelerated to 8.9% in April 2023, up from 7.8% in March 2023.

“There were 1,347 sales in 2022, which was 30% lower than in 2021, mainly because of market volatility during lockdown”

Owing to the time lag for Land Registry data to be released, it is only this month that we can see the full picture for how house sales in Harrow in 2022. There were 1,347 sales in the year, which was 30% lower than in 2021. However, this is mainly because sales in 2021 were 21% higher than the ten-year average due to lockdown market volatility.

Both indices suggest that the strong demand for properties and limited supply continue to support house price growth in the UK market. However, there is no escaping that the outlook for the market over the next year is uncertain, given the uncertainty over inflation and therefore interest rates. Still, Harrow remains in a strong position to thrive come what may.