House price growth slows for a fourth month in a row as London values fall and mortgage costs soar
Average UK private rents hit £1,406 in September, £52 more than a year earlier, as house-price growth slowed to 0.9% annually, with London values down 2.2%.For sale boards like these are growing scarcer as UK house-price growth slowed to 0.9% annually in August, with the average home now valued at £273,000.
Prices in Westminster, home to Mayfair and Belgravia, plunged 14.3% to £887,000 in the year to August, and Kensington and Chelsea dropped 13.8% to £1.2m. Annual UK growth weakened to 0.9% from July's 1.2%, putting the average home at £273,000. CPI inflation jumped to 3.5% in September. Broker David Hollingworth says a Bank of England rate rise in November now looks all but certain.
The average two-year fix has hit 5.55%, up from 4.25% before the Iran war.
Renters are squeezed too, with average monthly rent up £52 to £1,406.
Estate agent Amy Reynolds said: 'The Budget has slowed the market down.'
