Data published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) showed that in March average house prices rose by 4.1% per annum after an increase by 5.8% per annum in February (revised from +5.5%). The latest increase was the weakest since October 2020. Economists had expected prices to rise by 5.2% per annum.
The ONS said that the average house price in March was 285,000 pounds, which is 11,000 pounds higher than in March 2022, but 8,000 pounds lower than the recent peak recorded in November 2022. The provisional seasonally adjusted estimate of UK residential transactions in March was 89,560, as shown in HM Revenue and Customs' (HMRC's) Monthly property transactions statistics. This is 18.9% lower than March 2022 and 1.3% higher than February 2023.
The data also showed that on a monthly basis and seasonally adjusted, the average house price declined by 0.9% in March, following an increase of 0.4% in February. On a non-seasonally adjusted basis, the average house price has fallen for the fourth consecutive month, decreasing by 1.2% in March, following a decrease of 0.1% in February.