UK house prices flatline as rising mortgage costs weigh on market

UK house prices flatlined in September, according to a leading index, as rising mortgage costs started to weigh on the market.

The average cost of a home was £298,441, roughly the same as it was a year earlier and in the previous month, according to the tracker from Lloyds previously known as the Halifax HPI.

Economists polled by Reuters had predicted a 0.1% monthly rise in prices, according to the median forecast, as well as a 0.2% annual increase.

It came after house prices fell by 0.3% in August, the first decline in three years, as prospective buyers were hit by geopolitical uncertainty, combined with higher mortgage rates and stretched affordability.

In recent weeks most big banks and building societies have put prices up as a result of turmoil in the global bond markets, even though there has not been a change in the Bank of England base rate since December last year.

Andrew Asaam, the mortgages director at Lloyds, said: “While the market overall has been fairly subdued, property prices have so far proved resilient during a period of higher mortgage rates, which has been driven by changing expectations around the future path of base rate.”

On Monday the average cost of a five-year fixed-rate mortgage reached 6% for the first time in three years. Rising mortgage rates are bad news for borrowers whose fixed-rate deals are ending, as well as prospective buyers who are hoping to take out a mortgage to buy a home and the sellers who want the best price from them.

It also adds to the squeeze facing consumers as a result of higher energy bills, linked to the Iran war, while rising prices elsewhere are raising concerns of a new cost of living crisis.

Asaam said: “While higher mortgage rates and wider economic uncertainty are encouraging some people to take a more measured approach, new inquiries from prospective buyers are now at their highest since February.”

He added that any movement in house prices was likely to remain modest.

Tom Bill, the head of UK residential research at the estate agent Knight Frank, said: “This year has been a story of rising energy prices and stalling house prices, as the unpredictable Middle East conflict unfolds and drives borrowing costs higher. This month’s budget adds to the uncertainty as buyers and sellers wonder which of the recurring tax rumours proves to be true.”

The number of people applying for a mortgage to buy a property fell between July and September, as higher borrowing costs continued to affect prospective housebuyers’ budgets, according to quarterly figures from Stonebridge, one of the UK’s largest independent mortgage and protection networks.

Mortgage applications for home purchases fell by 18.2% in the third quarter compared with a year earlier, Stonebridge found, while applications from first-time buyers slumped 18.6% over the same period.

However, rising numbers of applications for remortgaging helped to slow the decline in overall mortgage activity.