TOP NEWS: UK house price growth slows as stamp duty taper starts

(Alliance News) - Runaway growth in UK house prices moderated a touch in July, data from Halifax showed on Friday.

House prices rose 0.4% in July on a month-on-month basis, recovering after a 0.6% dip in June. Annual growth moderated further, to 7.6% in July from 8.7% in June and after May's near-10% jump.

This moderation aligns with the tapering of the government's stamp duty incentive. In March, UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak extended the stamp duty holiday from the end of that month until the end of June at GBP500,000, and now a new GBP250,000 threshold applies until the end of September.

Halifax noted the annual growth rate in July was the slowest since March.

"This easing was somewhat expected given the strength of price inflation seen last summer, as the market began its recovery from the first lockdown, and with activity supported by the start of the stamp duty holiday," said Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax.

Galley expects the UK housing market to remain "solid" over the next few months, with annual price growth continuing to slow but remaining well into positive territory by year-end.

By Lucy Heming; lucyheming@alliancenews.com

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