House prices appear to be bouncing back to growth as we move into the latter half of the year, says John Goodall, CEO and co-founder of buy-to-let specialist Landbay.
He made his observation in the light of new figures from the latest House Price Index from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which includes all residential properties bought for market value in the UK.
The latest data shows that the average price of a home was £226,000 in July; £11,000 higher than July 2016 and up £2,000 on the previous month. House price growth has slowed since mid-2016 but has remained broadly around 5.0 per cent during 2017, says the ONS.
And Mr Goodall believes that without a far-reaching house building plan, prices will continue to rise over the oncoming years.
He said: “UK house prices appear to be bouncing back to growth as we move into the latter half of 2017. Whilst historically low mortgage rates and relatively low unemployment levels have a part to play, this is underpinned by strong overall buyer demand which continues to outpace the number of homes coming to market.
“The UK’s housing shortfall needs plugging, but the initiatives designed to address the problem are blinkered at best. Yes tax reform and government schemes to help first time buyers will improve access to housing in the short term, but without a radical house building plan, prices will continue to rise over the coming decades.
"Aspiring homeowners are looking to the private rented sector to support them on their path to ownership, so more action on build-to-rent properties would be a welcome development."