House prices climb as rent rises slow - ONS
By Abigail Townsend
Date: Wednesday 21 May 2025
(Sharecast News) - UK house prices jumped in March, official data showed on Wednesday, while growth in private rents continued to slow.
According to provisional estimates from the Office for National Statistics, average UK house prices increased by 6.4% in the 12 months to March. That compares to the 5.5% rise seen in the year to February.
As a result, the average house price now stands at £271,000.
In England, prices rose 6.7% to £296,000, while in Wales they rose by 3.6% to £208,000 and by 4.6% in Scotland to £186,000.
Private rents, meanwhile, jumped 7.4% in the 12 months to April to £1,335 per month. That was, however, a slower rate than the 7.7% seen in March.
The rate of increase has gradually been falling back from a peak of 9.1% reached in March 2024.
But there remain significant variations across regions. Annual rent inflation was 9.4% in the North East in April, but just 4% in Yorkshire and The Humber.
Katy Eatenton, mortgage and protection specialist at Lifetime Wealth Management, said: "The stamp duty deadline almost certainly played a role in this house price data as demand soared in the latter stages of 2024 an early 2025.
"Following this morning's inflation data, more rate cuts from the Bank of England are no longer guaranteed this year, so this, on top of the increased stamp duty now payable, is likely to see house price growth taper off."
The consumer price index came in at 3.5% on Wednesday, up from 2.6% a month earlier, after a sharp rise in energy bills and air fares.
Markets had been expecting an increase, although the print was above consensus expectations of 3.3%.
The Bank of England trimmed interest rates earlier this month, the second reduction of the year and the fourth in the current rate cutting cycle.
But there are mixed views about when the next cut will be. Most are pencilling in late summer, although BoE chief economist Huw Pill warned on Tuesday that the current pace of interest rate cuts was arguably "too rapid" in the face of ongoing wage pressures.
Most economists believe inflation will continue to edge higher before falling back again from the autumn onwards.
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