House prices in the UK edged up by 0.4% in July, rising to a new high of £195,621, figures from Nationwide show.
The society also estimated that homebuyers paid a combined £275m less in tax in the first six months of the year as a result of changes to stamp duty in December.
After a fall in June which took the annual rate of price inflation to a two-year low, July’s price rise pushed it back to 3.5% – a level that Nationwide’s chief economist said was close to the historic pace of earnings growth.
“After moderating over the past 12 months, there are tentative signs that annual house price growth may be stabilising close to the pace of earnings growth, which has historically been around 4%,” said Robert Gardner.
“This would bode well for a sustainable increase in housing market activity, though whether this will be maintained will depend on whether building activity can keep pace with increasing demand.”
The figures, which are based on mortgages approved by the society during the month, showed the annual rate of growth was around a third of the 10.6% recorded in July 2014, while the three-month rate of growth has fallen back from 2.4% to 0.9%.
