Agents upbeat after index shows unexpected house price rise

House prices across the UK have jumped by an average of 4.0 per cent in the year to September says the country's largest lender, the Halifax.

This is a considerable rise over August, when the Halifax said prices were rising at an annual pace of 2.6 per cent.

The average price of a home is now at a new high of £225,109.

A shortage of properties for sale and growth in full-time employment was supporting prices. "However, increasing pressure on spending power and continuing affordability concerns may well dampen buyer demand," said Russell Galley, the managing director of Halifax Community Bank.

“The market has proved its resilience and confounded the doom mongers. Prices are holding up reasonably well where vendors are realistic, partly in response to a continuing shortage of stock. Sadly we’re not seeing the hoped-for autumn bounce but a steady market is more than welcome with so much uncertain economic news” says Jeremy Leaf, north London estate agent and a former RICS residential chairman.

“The shortage of property is still a concern. We’re simply not building the numbers we need to get the market moving at its full potential. The north west market is very healthy, booming in most areas, whilst London is pretty much a no-go for buyers and tenants these days due to escalating prices and unaffordability” claims Ged McPartlin, director of Ascend Properties based in Manchester.

“The UK market has found its feet and is starting to gain momentum again. This momentum is unlikely to regress despite the ongoing spectacle of Britain leaving the EU” says eMoov chief executive Russell Quirk.