House prices dropped by -2.7% in April, reflecting the distorting effects of the end of the March stamp duty holiday.
This brought the average UK house price down to £265,000.
At the end of May minimum stamp duty thresholds reverted from £250,000 to £125,000.
Meanwhile, for first-time buyers it changed from £425,000 to £300,000.
Marc von Grundherr, director of Benham and Reeves, said: “Whilst the monthly rate of growth declined in the month following the stamp duty deadline, we’ve still seen positive movement on an annual basis and this long term measure is a far more accurate view of overall market health.
“In the months that have followed, we’ve seen buyers and sellers push on with their plans to move and so any initial reduction in house prices as a result of the stamp duty deadline will have been short lived.”
Despite the monthly drop, annual house price growth stood at 3.5% in April.
Mark Harris, chief executive of mortgage broker SPF Private Clients, said: “The easing of core and headline CPI is likely to support expectations for further interest rate cuts later this year in August and November rather than this week.
“In the meantime, lenders have plenty of liquidity and are showing that they are keen to lend.
“Mortgage rates are steady on the whole, with some lenders continuing to reduce rates and ease criteria, helping borrowers take on bigger mortgages than they might have been able to just a short while ago.
“There are also signs of innovation with regard to helping first-time buyers in particular, which is good for the overall health of the housing market as it enables those further up the ladder to make their moves.”
Tips to improve the price you get for your house
While ultimately you can’t change the market conditions when you’re looking to sell, there are a few things that you can do to help increase the chances of bumping up the offer you get for your property, and we’ve listed a few of those things below:
- Address any known areas of concern – if you know those viewing your property always bring up the same things, see if you can change them or at least partially remedy them.
- Declutter your key spaces – any excess clutter taking up room in your living space can impact how valuable potential buyers think it could be. So, have a clear out yourself or hire a professional waste removal company to help declutter your key spaces (you will find companies offering everything from quick garage clearances to full house clearances).
- Consider waiting for better conditions – as we say, you can’t ultimately control the market conditions, however you can control whether you sell right now or not. If the market is not in a great place when you’re looking to sell, consider holding off.
