Nationwide figures reveal end of year house price high 

New figures from the Nationwide show house prices rose in December for the fourth month in a row, meaning the market ended 2024 on a “strong footing.” 

House prices in December were up by 0.7% on the previous month and 4.7% year-on-year. 

This is the strongest annual rise since October 2022, when the Liz Truss government’s mini-budget pushed up the cost of borrowing. 

While all regions saw house price growth, the Nationwide registered a “north-south divide” in England. Homes in the north increased by 4.9%, while the south saw lower growth at 2.2%.  

In spite of the increases, the price of an average home remains below the all-time high seen in the summer 2022. The average cost of a UK home is now £269,426. 

The lender puts increased market activity down to budget stamp duty changes, with many buyers acting now to avoid additional tax. 

The threshold at which buyers begin paying stamp duty was temporality increased in September 2022 from  £125,000 to £250,000 and from £300,000 to £450,000 for first-time buyers. In her October budget, the Chancellor Rachel Reeves announced the thresholds would revert to their previous levels from 31 March 2025. 

According to Robert Gardner, Nationwide’s chief economist: “Mortgage market activity and house prices proved surprisingly resilient in 2024 given the ongoing affordability challenges facing potential buyers.”  

He added that it was “encouraging that activity levels in the housing market increased over the course of 2024, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchase each month rising above pre-pandemic levels towards the end of the year.” 

Read more about this story in The Guardian.