Faarea Masud, a business reporter with BBC News, reported that house prices experienced a decline in April as prospective buyers were faced with the prospect of paying higher costs due to changes in stamp duty regulations. The figures released by Nationwide revealed a 0.6% drop in prices from the previous month, indicating a slowdown in the housing market that was anticipated following the implementation of the new stamp duty thresholds on April 1st.
Despite the decrease in monthly prices, annual house price growth also showed signs of deceleration, with homes still maintaining a 3.4% increase in value compared to a year ago. The average house price now stands at £270,752, reflecting the ongoing demand in the property market despite recent changes. Robert Gardner, chief economist at Nationwide, noted a surge in transactions in March as buyers hurried to finalize purchases before the new tax charges took effect.
Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced in the October Budget that the government had decided to lower stamp duty thresholds in England and Northern Ireland, with the changes coming into effect in April. These adjustments meant that buyers would now be required to pay stamp duty on properties valued over £125,000, a decrease from the previous threshold of £250,000. Additionally, first-time buyers were now subject to the tax on homes exceeding £300,000, as opposed to the previous threshold of £425,000.
Nationwide’s house price data, which excludes cash buyers and buy-to-let deals, is based on its own mortgage lending statistics. The significant drop in house prices seen in April was the most substantial monthly decline since August 2023, as mentioned by UK economist Ashley Webb from Capital Economics. Despite the potential impact of US president Donald Trump’s trade tariffs on prices, easing mortgage rates were expected to bolster housing demand in the upcoming months. Webb predicted a 3.5% increase in house prices for the current year, followed by a 4.5% rise in 2026
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