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The number of property transactions across the UK rose on an annual and monthly basis, according to figures collected by HMRC.
Seasonally adjusted, there were 101,830 residential transactions in March, a 1.4 per cent rise month-on-month, and a 6.8 per cent increase annually.
In addition, there were 11,210 for non-residential transactions last month, which equates to an 8.9 per cent rise on a monthly basis, and 9.7 per cent in the year to March.
Average house prices in the UK increased by 0.6% in the year to February, down from 1.7% in January, according to the latest UK House Price Index statistics.
This is the lowest annual rate since September 2012 when it was 0.4%, and the figures show that annual growth is now falling in Scotland.
House prices in Scotland fell by 0.2% over the year, down from a rise of 2.4% in the year to January 2019. The average house price in England increased by 0.4% over the year to February, down from 1.4% in January.
First-time buyer numbers have seen annual growth for the fifth consecutive month, according to the latest data from UK Finance.
There were 24,880 new first-time buyer mortgages completed in February 2019, 4.1% more than in the same month in 2018.
Homemover figures remained steady with a 0.1% annual rise, while remortgages with additional borrowing increased by 10% compared to February 2018. Additionally, there were 18,360 pound-for-pound remortgages, 7.8% more than in the same period last year.
CPI inflation remained unchanged in March at 1.9%, according to the latest ONS data.
CPIH inflation, which the ONS now uses as its headline measure and includes owner occupiers’ housing costs, has remained static at 1.8% for the past three months.
Rising fuel and clothing prices produced the largest upward contributions, but these were offset by a fall in costs across a range of recreational and cultural goods, food and vehicles.
Mortgage approvals grew 4 per cent annually in March, according to new figures from e.surv.
The data shows that 66,174 mortgages were approved last month, translating to monthly growth of 2.9 per cent.
Meanwhile, the number of loans given to small deposit borrowers fell from 26.3 per cent to 26 per cent.
Yay
Russel Quirk, co-founder, Properganda
One of my favourite films is Trading Places, whereby Dan Aykroyd becomes ‘an experiment’ to see what happens to people when their privileged lives are suddenly ripped away from them.
In the case of the UK property market, the Mortimer and Randolph Duke in this scenario are, respectively, our parliamentarians and the EU’s negotiators, cynically and self-servingly seeking to destroy without regard for the consequences.
The housing market will continue to be subdued in the near- and medium-term according to the March RICS residential market survey.
The report shows that new buyer enquires sentiment was at -27 per cent, which is an improvement on the -40 per cent seen last month, but still a negative result for the eighth month.
Meanwhile, respondents gave a negative reading to buyer appetite, and new instructions, both declining again. The supply indicator also continued its fall, down from -20 per cent in December to -30 per cent in March.
The number of last-time buyers is rising, according to data collected by Imla.
The figures show that one in three home movers in England each year, equal to roughly 200,000, is an LTB – almost double the figure from a decade ago.
Every year, 2.5 per cent of the eight million older homeowners in England move. However, the report predicts that the number of over 55s doing so is to increase faster than other generations as this age group grows in number.
The average single first-time buyer in England and Wales needs 10 years and three months to save enough for a deposit, according to data collected by Hamptons.
The data has been analysed on the basis that the FTB would require a 15 per cent deposit.
The time needed to save for a deposit between Q4 2008 and Q4 2018 increased in London by 21 months, in the South East by 18 months and in the South West by six months.
Monthly house prices fell 1.6 per cent in March, according to the Halifax.
This, managing director Russell Galley says, “party corrects the significant growth seen last month and again demonstrates the risk in focusing too heavily on short-term, volatile measures.”
“Industry-wide figures show that the number of mortgages being approved remains around 40 per cent below pre-financial crisis levels, and we know that lower levels of activity can lead to bigger price movements,” says Galley.