UK House Price Rise

UK House Prices

When Nationwide began its survey of house prices in 1952, the average house price was £1,891.

If house prices had grown inline with inflation. Average house prices today would be worth £43,711.

However, despite recent 25% slump in house prices, average UK house prices stand at over £150,000.

Many predicted that this year, UK house prices would continue to slump by 10-40%. But, rather unexepectedly, prices have begun to stabilise.

This could just be a temporary pause before the downward trend is continued. On the other hand, some feel that the shortage of housing in the UK could keep prices high, despite the gloomy economic situation.

House prices are certainly not rising because of a surge in demand. In fact for many first time buyers, housing affordability remains poor. The ratio of house price to earnings is far higher than at the end of the last boom.

I wrote a detailed post with graphs and commentary on – Why House Prices have stopped falling – and whether this is likely to be temporary or permanent.