Latest data released by Halifax - 5 June 2020
- Prior -0.6%
- House prices +2.6% y/y
- Prior +2.7%
Slight delay in the release by the source. House prices eased for a third straight month as the impact from the lockdown measures in the UK is getting more evident, though the decline in May is less robust than that of April.
Housing market conditions remain a little benign at the moment given the drag from the virus outbreak, so the pace of recovery in the coming months will be the thing to watch out for in order to gauge sentiment. Halifax notes that:
"With the full impact of lockdown measures taking a firm grip on the UK property market by May, the average house price fell by 0.2% to £237,808. This is the third successive monthly fall, though more modest than in April, and reflects a continued loss of momentum following what was a strong start to the year. Though it should still be noted that with a limited number of transactions available, calculating average house prices remains challenging and increased volatility is to be expected.
"The mid-month relaxation of restrictions in England, allowing estate agents and conveyancers to restart operations, brought much-needed positive news with some advance indicators of buyer and seller interest quickly showing signs of improvement. This is likely to provide a short-term boost as buyers and homeowners attempt to kick-start transactions that had previously been put on hold.
"Looking ahead, we expect market activity to increase progressively as restrictions are eased further across the whole of the UK and we continue to have confidence in the underlying health of the housing market over the long-term. However, the extent of downward pressure on market confidence and prices over the coming months will depend on how quickly the economy is able to recover from the effects of the pandemic and the available government policy support for jobs and households."
