Overview
- Lloyds' house price index, published Friday, showed average UK prices fell 1.2% year‑on‑year to £296,285, the steepest annual decline since October 2023.
- The Bank of England raised its base rate by 0.25 percentage points to 4% on Thursday, and UK Finance estimates that typical tracker mortgage holders will pay about £30.72 more each month.
- Price movement is uneven across Britain, with London the weakest market — down about 3.1% to £524,892 — while regions such as the North East and North West recorded modest annual growth.
- Most homeowners (about 87%) are currently on fixed‑rate deals, but roughly 2.3 million fixed‑rate mortgages are set to expire in 2027, which could expose many borrowers to higher payments later.
- Industry figures say the government's revived Help to Buy equity‑loan scheme, due to start in April, should boost demand for first‑time buyers but its delayed rollout and caps mean it will not ease near‑term affordability pressures.