Overview
- ONS reported Wednesday that UK house price growth fell to 0% in March, with the average price at £268,000 after a 0.4% monthly drop compared with a jump a year earlier before stamp duty changes.
- England slipped 0.6% to £290,000, Wales rose 2.9% to £213,000, Scotland gained 1.6% to £187,000, and Northern Ireland climbed 7.4% to £198,000 for January to March.
- London recorded a 2.1% annual fall and an eighth straight monthly decline, including an 11% slide in Westminster to £844,000.
- Market voices say buyers are negotiating harder after mortgage rates spiked during March’s Middle East shock and the Bank of England held its base rate at 3.75%.
- Private rents kept rising by 3.5% in the year to April to an average of £1,381, which adds cost pressure for households even as prices stall.