London house prices inched forward by just 2% last year says Nationwide
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London house prices inched forward by just 2% last year, below the current rate of inflation and far slower than most of the rest of the country, as higher than expected interest rates continued to weigh on the market. Leading mortgage lender Nationwide said the average price of a home in the capital rose 2% over 2024 to £525,535. This was the second slowest rate of growth of any region in the UK with only East Anglia seeing even more muted rises.
By contrast prices across the UK as a whole ended the year up 4,7% at an average of £269,426. The fastest rising prices were in Northern Ireland, where they went up by 7.1%, followed by the north, with a 5.9% rise, and the north west on 5.5%. Nationwide’s chief economist Robert Gardner said: “UK house prices ended 2024 on a strong footing, up 4.7% compared with December 2023, though prices were still just below the all-time high recorded in summer 2022. House prices increased by 0.7% month on month, after taking account of seasonal effects, following a 1.2% rise in November.
“Mortgage market activity and house prices proved surprisingly resilient in 2024 given the ongoing affordability challenges facing potential buyers. At the start of the year, house prices remained high relative to average earnings, which meant that the deposit hurdle remained high for prospective first-time buyers. This is a challenge that had been made worse by record rates of rental growth in recent years, which has hampered the ability of many in the private rented sector to save.
