Northern Ireland maintains the strongest property price growth of any nation or region in the UK, rising by +7.4% on an annual basis in December according to new data from the Halifax. 

Properties in Northern Ireland now cost an average of £205,895. 

House prices in Wales were up +4.6% compared to the previous year, with properties now costing an average of £226,646. 

Scotland saw a lower rise in house prices compared to the rest of the UK, with properties in the country now £209,959, +2.4% more than the year before. 

In England, house prices in the North West were up +5.3% compared to the previous year, with properties now costing an average £238,832 – the strongest growth of any English region. 

London retains the highest average house price in the UK, at £547,614, up +3.3% compared to last year. 

More generally, UK-wide house prices finished 2024 up +3.3% over the year, with the average house price £297,166. Prices fell back slightly in December, by -0.2%, following five consecutive monthly increases. 

The housing market was broadly steady at the start of 2024, with house price growth taking off from the summer onwards. In the latter half of the year, house prices grew in response to the falls in mortgage rates, alongside income growth, both leading to financial pressures somewhat easing for buyers. 

The lender says impending changes to Stamp Duty thresholds have also given prospective first-time buyers even greater motivation to get on the housing ladder and bring any home-buying plans forward. Together, these elements meant mortgage demand picked up, hitting the highest level in over two years and back to levels seen pre-pandemic. 

Amanda Bryden, head of mortgages at Halifax, says: “In many areas across the country, house prices were also buoyed by demand outstripping supply, possibly further amplified by homeowners holding off putting their property on the market – perhaps in anticipation of mortgage rates reducing further.

“Where does that leave the housing market for 2025? While the housing market has been supported in recent months by falling mortgage rates, income growth and the announcement on upcoming Stamp Duty policy changes, mortgage affordability will remain a challenge for many, especially as the Bank Rate is likely to come down more slowly than previously predicted. 

“However, providing employment conditions don’t deteriorate markedly from a more recent softening, buyer demand should hold up relatively well and, taking all this into account, we’re continuing to anticipate modest house price growth this year.”