UK house prices have continued to rise according to the latest official figures but London saw a fall and experts are concerned this heralds a more widespread decline.
According to the Land Registry, prices rose by 1.7% in June on an annual basis, suggesting the market is proving resilient to the recent surge in mortgage costs.
According to Moneyfacts, a two-year fixed residential mortgage currently is priced at 6.7% on average, slightly below their recent peak, with five-year fixes around 6.26%.
However, mortgage brokers warned that the impact of the recent rises has yet to show through fully with deals taking three-four months on average to complete.
The ONS bases its data on completed sales, meaning buyers who completed had likely arranged their mortgage earlier in the year and before rates surged, suggesting there is worse to come.
In London, prices dropped by 0.6% to £528,000 on average though the capital remains the most expensive place to buy a house by a distance, with the South East second at £391,000 while the average UK house price stands at £288,000.
However, this does not mean any respite for renters looking for a place to live in London as the ONS also revealed rents are rising at the fastest pace in seventeen years.
Rents rose by 5.5% in July, up from 5.3% in June, registering the biggest rise since 2006 as landlords pass on the higher cost of mortgages.
Gareth Atkins, Managing Director of Lettings at Foxtons (LSE:FOXT), told the Telegraph.: “This July, as the seasonal rush began, there was an average of 21 renters registering per each new instruction in London.”