UK House Prices Rise for First Time in Six Months Due to Property Shortage, Halifax Expects Fall Until 2025

October sees a 1.1% hike in UK housing prices due to property shortage; however, a weak buyer's market and increasing interest rates suggest an overall decline until 2025, according to Halifax.

UK house prices rose by 1.1% in October, marking the first increase in six months due to a shortage of properties on the market. However, buyer demand remains weak and the average property value is still lower than last year.
Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, predicts that house prices will continue to fall until 2025 due to anticipated higher interest rates and economic pressures.
The rise in prices was most marked in the southeast of the UK, where the housing market saw a decline of 6% over the year. Simultaneously, Scotland registered the smallest decrease, with a drop of only 0.2% over the same period.
Despite the overall weak housing demand, the first-time buyer market has held up relatively well, particularly with increasing rental prices making purchasing a first home an attractive option.
While prices are anticipated to drop, it is important to note that they are still approximately £40,000 above pre-pandemic levels. This is despite the Bank of England's consistent increase in interest rates in an attempt to control inflation.