House prices rebounded in September after the Brexit vote lull
09-20-2016
Helen Cahill
I report on retail and property for City A.M.
There have been worries of a housing market crash after the Brexit vote (Source: Getty)
UK house prices are rebounding from the lull that immediately followed the Brexit vote, according to data from Rightmove.
Asking prices have increased 0.7 per cent month-on-month, Rightmove said. In the weeks after the Brexit vote, Rightmove found that prices fell by 0.9 per cent.
But first-time buyers are finding it increasingly difficult to get on the housing ladder; for a property with two bedrooms or less, prices increased by 3.3 per cent on last month. This amounted to a 10.5 per cent increase in prices for first-time buyer properties at the same point last year.
Read more: Foxtons is going door-to-door to boost confidence in London's house market
Miles Shipside, Rightmove director, said: "Some of those trying to get onto the property ladder may have wistfully listened to speculation of lower prices in a post-Brexit Britain.
"While the referendum result has created additional downwards pressure in some upper segments of the market that were already slowing, those who do not own a home and arguably have the greatest housing need are now finding it harder to achieve their goal in the post-Brexit-vote aftermath."
Jeremy Duncombe, director of Legal & General mortgage club, said: "House prices are continuing their unstoppable climb to overwhelming, and for many aspirational first time buyers, unreachable heights.
"The government can hopefully use the Autumn Statement to deliver a clear plan of action which prioritises the need to boost the supply of affordable homes."
The news comes after a raft of positive data suggesting the UK economy is picking itself up after the initial shock of the Brexit vote. The Office of National Statistics said recently that retail sales held up well in August, after a bumper month in July. The number of people in work hit a record high in July, suggesting there hasn't been a post-referendum slowdown in the jobs market yet either.