UK house price growth accelerates, rent inflation stays elevated

The annual increase in UK house prices accelerated sharply in May, while rent inflation stayed close to multi-year highs, according to the latest data released on Wednesday by the Office for National Statistics.

The ONS said that home prices averaged £285,000 across the UK in May, up 2.2% on May 2023, picking up from the 1.3% revised growth registered in the 12 months to April.

This was the third straight month of annual increases following eight consecutive months of falling prices.

Average prices in England were 2.2% higher at £302,000, up 2.4% at £216,000 in Wales and rose 2.5% to £191,000 in Scotland.

Meanwhile, average rental prices in the UK were up 8.6% year-on-year in June, the ONS reported, broadly in line with the 8.7% growth seen in May. Rent inflation still remains close to the 9.2% level seen in March, which was the highest annual percentage change since the data series began in January 2015.

Monthly rents averaged £1,310 in England, £743 in Wales and £959 in Scotland last month, with the highest rent inflation seen in London (9.7%) and lowest in the North East (5.9%).