Annual house price growth slowed to 3.5% in the year to April, according to the latest UK House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).

The figure was down from 4.1% in the 12 months to March and continues to drop significantly from the recent peak in annual house price inflation of 14.2% in reported by the ONS in July 2022.

Following the latest slowdown in house prices, the ONS index has indicated that the average UK house price was £286,000 in April, which is £9,000 higher than 12 months ago, but £7,000 down from the recent price peak in September last year.

Average house prices increased over the year to £306,000 in England (3.7%), £213,000 in Wales (2.0%), £187,000 in Scotland (2.0%) and £172,000 in Northern Ireland (5.0%). The ONS reported that the North East saw the highest annual percentage change of all English regions in the year to April (5.5%), while London again saw the lowest (2.4%).

Technical director at Legal & General Surveying Services, Malcolm Webb, commented: “Although recent headlines have painted a turbulent picture of the UK housing market, it’s important to put any month-on-month price fluctuations and even annual price movement into context.

“Homeowners are likely, on average, to stay in their homes for well over 10 years, according to the latest Government data, so it makes sense for them to take a longer view on house prices. As the latest ONS data shows, while there have been some fluctuations, the UK housing market has still seen decades of average house price growth.

“For potential buyers, we know that this price growth can pose affordability challenges. The UK’s ongoing supply and demand imbalance, means that there’s a lot of upward pressure on house prices, particularly in certain areas, but this isn’t the case across the whole of the UK. There is a huge amount of regional variation in the UK property market that’s masked when we just focus on average prices and speaking with a local expert can help new buyers take advantage of that.”

Propositions director at PRIMIS, Vikki Jefferies, added: “The figures today are not a surprise given the strain of higher interest rates and unpredictability on the housing market. However, it is a positive sign that house prices still remain well-above pre-pandemic levels, and the downward trend has been much less pronounced than some had predicted at the beginning of the year.

“The main challenge for homebuyers now is a volatile mortgage market, which has seen mortgage rates rise to their highest levels since Q4 2022. With more than 400,000 people seeing their existing fixed deals end between July and September, it is crucial that borrowers seek financial advice as soon as possible to ensure they are getting the best deal.”

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