House prices decreased by 1.8 per cent over the course of 2023 to reach an average price of £257,443, Nationwide house price index has revealed.
Nationwide chief economist, Robert Gardner, said: “UK house prices ended 2023 down 1.8 per cent compared with December 2022, leaving them almost 4.5 per cent below the all-time high recorded in late summer 2022.”
Gardner additionally stated that housing market activity was “weak” throughout 2023 with the total number of transactions running at around 10 per cent below pre-pandemic levels over the past six months.
“On the flip side, the volume of cash transactions has continued to run above pre-Covid levels” he also said.
Property types
Gardner provided insight on the types of properties buyers flocked to during the year, with buyers looking towards smaller, less expensive properties.
This may be because, according to Gardner, affordability for flats has held up relatively better as they experienced less of a price increase over the pandemic period.
However, while a yearly change was reported, the index found no monthly change.
“Prices were fat compared with November, after taking account of seasonal effects”, Gardner added.
Chestertons head of sales, Matt Thompson, said: “December tends to be a quieter time of year in terms of property transactions but buyers have been more motivated this month to continue their search.
“Pent-up demand caused by this year’s economic uncertainty is a key reason for this delay in buyer activity and indicates that 2024 will start off with a rather active property market.”
Regional disparity
Elsewhere, the index reported that house prices experienced the greatest fall in East Anglia in the final quarter of 2023, decreasing by 5.2 per cent when compared with the previous quarter.
This was ahead of the outer South East, where prices fell by 4.5 per cent, outer metropolitan area, where prices fell by 3.6 per cent, and the East Midlands, where prices fell by 3.2 per cent.
Conversely, two areas experienced an increase in their house prices with Northern Ireland’s prices rising by 4.5 per cent in the quarter.
Prices in Scotland rose by 0.5 per cent.
tom.dunstan@ft.com
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