RE: Why7 Feb 2025 14:18
STOP the government from killing the goose that lays to golden egg
UK house prices hit a record high at the start of the year, mortgage lender Halifax said on Friday.
House prices rose 0.7% in January from December. They had fallen 0.2% in December from November.
"This increase pushed the average property price to a new record high of GBP299,138," Halifax analyst Amanda Bryden said.
However, the pace of annual growth eased to 3.0% in January, from 3.4% in December. It was the slowest annual growth since July.
"Affordability is still a challenge for many would-be buyers, but the market's resilience is noteworthy. There's strong demand for new mortgages and growth in lending. With a stamp duty increase looming, some of this demand may have come from first-time buyers eager to complete transactions before the end of March,