UK house prices fall unexpectedly in March

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House prices in the UK were unexpectedly contracted in March with the end of the stamp fee, according to the Halifax lender, before the leading indicators of mortgage rates in April fell on the US tariff.

The data showed on Monday that the average house price decreased by 0.5 percent between February and March, after a decrease of 0.2 percent in the previous month, as the average cost reached 296,699 pounds.

Home prices increased by 2.8 percent of March of last year, unchanged from February.

This step contradicts the expectations of analysts, who expected a 0.1 percent increase on a monthly basis and an annual expansion of 3.5 percent, according to the LSEG poll.

“The prices of homes increased in January, when buyers rushed to overcome the date of the closing fees of March. However, with the completion of these deals now, the demand is due to natural requests and new applications,” said Amanda Praiden, Halifax, head of real estate loan in Halifax.

The STAMP Duty holiday, which was presented in September 2022, ended when the mortgage rates rose, in March.

Household purchases for buyers for the first time from April 1 will start imposing fees on real estate worth 300,000 pounds or more, instead of 425,000 pounds at the present time, with similar changes to buyers for the first time.

This decrease came before US president Donald Trump announced on April 2 of the tariff for importing goods to the United States, prompting global shares to falter and low swap rates, which constitute the mortgage rates offered by the lenders.

Mark Harris, CEO of the SPF private mortgage company, said that if the exchange rates remain depressed, “lenders can respond under the fixed prices for a period of five years starting from” 3 “, contrary to the current situation of only one or two at a price of less than 4 percent.”

He said: “This would help to bear costs and give buyers renewed confidence to their movement.”

“If the borrowing costs decrease, the low price of the house appears to be reflected with the increase in market activity,” said Rees Malik, the mortgage broker in the R3 Wealth consultant.

However, Ashley Web, UK economist at Capital Economics, said that lenders “may be looking for a sharp drop in market interest rates so that dust stabilizes American definitions.”

Praiden from Halifax expects a “modest rise” in home prices this year, with the help of Bank of England to reduce interest rates more and wages are still accelerating.

However, I noticed that “potential buyers are still facing challenges from the new usual borrowing costs, a limited supply of real estate available to choose from, and unconfirmed economic expectations.”

Halifax data showed that Northern Ireland continues to record the most powerful annual growth of real estate prices in any country or region, as it rises by 6.6 percent in March by an average of 206,620 pounds.

London witnessed the slowest growth of the annual home prices by 1.1 percent in March and the most expensive market remained, with average house prices of 54,3370 pounds sterling.

The numbers published last week showed the country level in March. The Bank of England reported last week that mortgage approvals decreased marginally in the first two months of the year.