UK house price surges – Nationwide says

UK house average price stands at £273,751 ($316,487) up from £271,209 in July as it represents an increase of £49,628 in the past two years, according to Nationwide said on Thursday.

House prices last month recorded 0.8 percent higher than in July when they increased at 0.2 percent from June. This considers the bigger increase than the median forecast of a 0.1 percent rise in a Reuters poll of economists.

In addition to that, there were signs that the housing market was losing bounce after the in demand for bigger houses during the COVID-19 pandemic, Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner added.

Gardner continued that it is expected the market will slow further as pressure on household budgets intensifies in the coming quarters, with inflation set to remain in double digits into next year.

Bank of England (BOE) widely expected to continue raising interest rates, Gardner noted there will be “cooling impact” on the market if this feeds through to mortgage rates, which have already increased in recent months on the back of previous Bank rate rises.