(Alliance News) - UK house price growth slowed considerably in June, figures on Wednesday showed, lapping a tough comparative which was turbocharged by a rush to seal deals ahead of the end of the stamp duty holiday.
According to the Office for National Statistics, UK house prices rose 7.8% year-on-year in June, slowing from May's 13% jump. Growth fell short of FXStreet cited consensus of another 13% rise.
On a monthly basis, however, prices rose 1.0% in June from May, taking the average price to GBP286,000.
"Despite UK house prices increasing between May and June 2022, annual house price inflation has slowed due to the rises in prices seen in June 2021, which were the result of tax break changes," the ONS explained.
In March 2021, Rishi Sunak, the chancellor at the time, extended the stamp duty cut granted in 2020 to the end of June 2021 at a GBP500,000 nil rate band, which was then tapered to a GBP250,000 threshold until the end of this past September.
It meant there was a race to conclude housing transactions by the end of June 2021, meaning prices that month were boosted as a result.
There have been concerns the housing market would cool, with rampant consumer price inflation and rising interest rates also hitting the sector. The Bank of England enacted its largest interest rate hike in 27 years earlier in August, lifting the benchmark rate by 50 basis points to 1.75%.
By Eric Cunha; ericcunha@alliancenews.com
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