London’s biggest building society has reported that house prices in the United Kingdom made a surprisingly strong jump in November to just one per cent below an all-time high.

According to the Nationwide Building Society, the average UK house price rose by 1.2 per cent month-on-month in November, which was the biggest increase since March 2022.

The annual price growth rate rebounded to 3.7 per cent in November from 2.4 per cent in October, marking the fastest rise since November 2022.

Across the UK, the average house price in November was £268,144.

Nationwide’s chief economist, Robert Gardner, said house prices are just one per cent below the all-time high recorded in the summer of 2022.

“The acceleration in house price growth is surprising since affordability remains stretched by historic standards, with house prices still high relative to average incomes and interest rates well above pre-Covid levels,” said Mr Gardner.

Stamp duty is set to revert to its previous levels next spring.

For first-time buyers in England and Northern Ireland, a temporary “nil rate” threshold will go back to £300,000 from the current level of £425,000.

However, Mr Gardner said the pick-up in price growth is unlikely to have been driven by upcoming stamp duty changes since most mortgage applications commenced before the budget announcement.

“Housing market activity has remained relatively resilient in recent months, with the number of mortgage approvals approaching the levels seen pre-pandemic, despite the higher interest rate environment.

“Solid labour market conditions, with low levels of unemployment and strong income gains, even after taking account of inflation, have helped the activity and house prices since the start of the year,” said Mr Gardner.

 (dpa/NAN)