'˜Surprise' spring rise in UK house prices

​House prices recorded a “surprise” 1.5 per cent jump in March to reach a new high of £227,871 on average.

The 1.5 per cent increase was the biggest month-on-month upswing seen since August 2017 and follows a 0.5 per cent increase in February, figures from Halifax show.

Across the UK, property values were 2.7 per cent higher than a year earlier, accelerating from an annual increase of 1.8 per cent seen in February.

Despite average house prices reaching a new high, Halifax said typical mortgage payments accounted for less than a third of home owners’ disposable income in the fourth quarter of 2017, compared with nearly half in 2007.

The fall has been driven mainly by low mortgage rates, despite the first base rate rise in a decade in November 2017, Halifax said.

Howard Archer, chief economic adviser at EY Item Club, said: “The March spike in house prices reported by the Halifax does not change our view that 2018 will be a difficult year for the housing market.”