UK House Prices Experience Significant Annual Growth

In February, the United Kingdom's housing market witnessed an impressive annual growth of 3.9%, as reported by the Nationwide House Price Index on Friday. This marks a 0.4% increase from the previous month, with the average house price climbing to £270,493 from £268,213 in January.

Resilience in Housing Market Activity

Despite the challenges of affordability, the housing market has shown remarkable resilience. The latter half of 2024 saw a significant uptick in housing transactions, with a 14% increase compared to the same period in 2023. Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, highlighted the recovery in first-time buyer activity, noting that mortgage completions in 2024 were just 5% below 2019 levels.