UK house price pressures continued to grow in July

- the average price of a property in the UK was £216,750

- the annual price change for a property in the UK was 8.3%

- the monthly price change for a property in the UK was 0.4%

- the monthly index figure for the UK was 113.7 (January 2015 = 100)

According to gov.uk, house price pressures continued to grow in July, reflecting the strength of demand relative to supply in the housing market. However, there were indications that some of the heat had been taken out of the market, with several indicators pointing towards weaker housing demand and supply in recent months.

On the demand side, the volume of lending approvals for house purchases fell by 5.1% in July 2016 compared to the previous month, continuing a downward trend since the beginning of the year. As such, monthly approvals remain below the levels seen in the 10 months prior to stamp duty changes in April 2016. UK home sales fell by 0.9% in July 2016 compared to the previous month, which means that home sales on a monthly basis remain below levels seen in 2014 and 2015 and before the stamp duty changes in early 2016.). Furthermore, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) market survey for July reported a fourth consecutive month of falling new buyer enquiries, affecting all regions of the UK.