- Despite predictions of a crash, house prices proved resilient in 2023
- But mortgage costs will weigh on the market in 2024
Despite a raft of ominous predictions, the housing market held up relatively well in 2023. Just how well depends on which measure you use.
Both Nationwide and Halifax publish house price indices based on their own mortgage approvals. The most recent releases suggested that house prices fell by between 1 and 2 per cent in the year to November. But this data is (by definition) skewed towards borrowers, who have been hit by rising mortgage rates this year. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) House Price Index (HPI) tracks all agreed sales – including cash buyers – and paints a more resilient picture. As the chart shows, by this measure, house prices had fallen by just 0.1 per cent in the year to September.