UK house prices grew at the slowest rate in 18 months in July 2014, research by market analyst Hometrack has found.
Hometrack’s monthly housing survey reveals house prices rose by 0.1% over the month, compared to 0.3% in June.
Key findings for July 2014:
- the number of new buyers registering with agents fell 0.9%
- 24% of postcode districts saw price rises
- 1.5% of postcode districts saw a decrease in prices
- 96.1% of properties were bought at their asking price or higher
- the average house was on the market for 6 weeks.
Richard Donnell, director of research at Hometrack, said:
“Seasonal factors always lead to a slowdown in demand and market activity in the summer months, but it is clear that there are bigger forces at work with a pronounced loss of momentum in the London housing market in the last 3 months.
“The lead indicators in the survey have pointed to a slowdown in the rate of growth for the last 2 months, in part due to warnings from the Bank of England and others of a possible house price bubble. Demand for mortgages has also been slowing for several months now.
“There’s a growing element of caution from buyers about the market outlook as the prospect of future interest rate rises looms, and the new tougher mortgage market checks implemented as part of the Mortgage Market Review impact on demand.”
