UK house prices hit new high in May as confidence returns

UK house prices hit a new record high in May as the housing market continued to defy pessimistic forecasts at the start of the year, figures showed.

Rightmove’s house price index showed the average price of property coming to market jumped by 1.8%, £6,647, to set a new peak of £372,894 as sellers responded with increased pricing confidence.

The 1.8% monthly increase is the biggest of the year so far, and significantly higher than the historic average May rise of 1.0%, Rightmove said.

Tim Bannister, Rightmove’s director of property science, suggested one reason for this increased confidence “may be that the gloomy start-of-the-year predictions for the market are looking increasingly unlikely”.

“What is much more likely is that the market will continue to transition to a more normal activity level this year following the exceptional activity of the pandemic years,” Bannister said.