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Economic Development

º£½ÇÊÓÆµ house prices could fall in coming months, says property expert

House price growth eased in January to 9.6%, from 10.0% in December, but over the last year the cost of homes has surged

View of Bristol houses(Image: Pexels/Martyna Bober)

The boss of a Bristol property company believes the decade-long increase in house prices could come to an end in 2022.

Graham Cox, founder of the Self-Employed Mortgage Hub, said he would be "surprised" if prices didn't start dropping materially in a few months' time.

He made the comments as new figures revealed the average º£½ÇÊÓÆµ house price in January was £24,000 higher than a year earlier.

New Office for National Statistics (ONS) data found house price growth eased slightly to 9.6% in January, from 10.0% in December, but over the year property prices had surged. The average º£½ÇÊÓÆµ house price in January was £274,000.

Average house prices increased to £292,000 in England (9.4% annual growth), to £206,000 in Wales (13.9%), to £183,000 in Scotland (10.8%), and to £159,000 in Northern Ireland (7.9%).

"It's true that chronic undersupply of housing stock remains but it's only insanely cheap credit that is underpinning demand, and we're now moving to a much higher interest rate environment," said Mr Cox.

"The cost of living crisis means lenders are already tightening their affordability criteria. People simply won't be able to borrow as much, which means lower offers, particularly from first-time buyers.

"Put it all together, and I'll be surprised if prices don't start falling materially in a few months' time."