House price growth slowed to 3.5% in the year to April, according to new data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The movement took the average price of a UK home in April to £265,000.

This latest rate was down from the 7% that the ONS reported for the 12 months to March, marking the first slowing of UK annual house price inflation since December 2023.

In its latest UK House Price Index, the ONS said the decline was caused by a price fall between March 2025 and April 2025, coinciding with the Government’s stamp duty reforms, which included changes to the amount of tax payable on properties valued above £125,000 for non-first-time buyers.

The ONS suggested the stamp duty changes led to “temporarily higher” average house prices in March because buyers were motivated to complete purchases before the changes came into effect.

Autumn 2021 also saw a similar pattern in price movement, the ONS added, when volumes and average prices increased before the October 2021 stamp duty changes.

CEO of Market Financial Solutions, Paresh Raja, said that the property market is fighting against challenging economic and geopolitical headwinds but remains in a “strong, stable position”.

“All eyes remain on interest rates, with expectations that they will fall over the coming year, even if the Bank of England decides to hold the base rate at 4.25% tomorrow, as seems likely,” Raja added.

“Ultimately, it was always going to take time for buyers and investors to adjust to the base rate rising from record-lows to 17-year highs, but all signs suggest that they have adapted over the past year or so, and the steady rise in house prices underlines that demand is still there. If indeed we do see one or two more base rate cuts by the end of the year, the strong foundations are there for the market to really kick on from.

“Lenders have to be responsive. Products must adapt in line with the needs of borrowers and the economic conditions, ensuring brokers and borrowers can move at speed and get deals done.”

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