House prices in England and Wales have climbed by 11.7% in the last year, according to the latest e.surv House Price Index.

Prices increased on a monthly basis by 0.7% in April to take the average house price in England and Wales to £341,462.

e.surv reported that the North West has overtaken the South West with the largest price growth, a trend that is mainly due to its high proportion of semi-detached homes.

The index also revealed that London has the lowest growth rate, with annual price falls across 11 boroughs.

e.surv director, Richard Sexton, suggested the latest figures “give a real sense of how the housing market is performing compared to the wider economy”.

“It is also worth noting that HMRC monthly property transactions data for UK home sales increased in March 2021 to their highest ever level,” Sexton commented.

“The stamp duty holiday added considerable impetus to a market that already reflected a shortage of available homes for buyers. Our index reflects buyers’ decisions taken two to three months earlier than the actual completion of the house ‘sale’.

“This means April data points to decisions made in January and February when purchasers were concerned that the stamp duty holiday was about to end, with any purchase then being made too late to qualify for the tax savings.

“While anyone still in the midst of buying and selling will be hoping to take advantage of the stamp duty holiday, its withdrawal could be less painful because of the introduction of the government’s high LTV lending scheme. This should support buyers currently facing affordability issues and offset some of the impact of the stamp duty withdrawal.”

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