THE areas where house prices are falling the most and the “affordable” ones where they’re rising have been revealed.
A typical home in the UK was worth £267,100 in August, 0.7%, or £1,970, more than a year ago.
On a monthly basis, the value of a typical home rose by £700.
House prices are now on track to rise 2.5% higher by the end of the year, Zoopla estimates.
Property sales have increased as mortgage rates are now at their lowest level for 15 months, making it cheaper for homeowners to borrow money.
A borrower who is looking to remortgage and owns 25% of their home can now lock into a five-year deal at 4.3% down from 5.5% a year ago.
On a loan with £250,000 left to pay this would be equivalent to a £250 decrease in the amount they would need to spend on their mortgage each month.
Meanwhile, interest rates have continued to fall as lenders compete with each other to attract borrowers.
The number of buyers looking for a new home and homeowners putting their property on the market has risen as a result.
As more buyers return to the market the level of competition for each home has increased, which has moderately pushed up property prices.
Manchester has seen the greatest increase in house prices of any region in England, with the value of a typical property up 2.3% in the past year.
An average home in the city is now worth £227,200.
Liverpool has also seen prices climb in the past 12 months, pushing up the value of a typical property to £160,400, which is 2% higher than a year ago.
But not all regions have seen house prices rise in the last year.
Aberdeen and Glasgow have both seen prices tumble by 1% since last August, the greatest fall of any UK region.
A typical home in Aberdeen is now worth £135,700 while in Glasgow it’s £150,200.
Cambridge also saw prices edge down by 0.1% in the past year but the value of an average home is still well above the national average.
A typical property in the area was worth £469,300 in August, £202,200 more than the national average.
Meanwhile, prices remained unchanged in Bournemouth and Leicester over the past year.
A typical home in Bournemouth is still worth £333,800 after seeing nothing added to its value in the past 12 months.
Meanwhile, an average property in Leicester is worth £226,200 after its value failed to increase in the past year.
Here are the average prices in August and their annual change, according to Zoopla:
Richard Donnell, executive director at Zoopla said: “Lower mortgage rates are delivering a much-needed confidence boost to homeowners, many of whom have sat on the sidelines over the last two years.
“Market activity is up across the board and expectations of lower borrowing costs will continue to bring buyers and sellers into the market.”
Halifax is part of Lloyds Group, which is the UK’s biggest mortgage lender.
Its monthly house price index is based on the mortgage data it holds and has been going since 1983.
It’s one of several key barometers of the property market.
The official measure of house prices is from the Office for National Statistics, which uses data from the Land Registry where the actual sold price is recorded.
This is the most accurate of all the indices, but the figures come out three months after the homes are sold, so there’s a big time lag.
Halifax and Nationwide each publish a monthly index tracking the average prices of homes on which they provide mortgages.
While they do adjust their figures to iron out big outliers, both lenders measure average house prices based on the properties they see.
As it’s based on mortgage approvals, cash buyers are not included.
Rightmove and Zoopla also publish monthly house price data.
The former is based on asking prices from the property listings on its website.
The latter uses sold prices, mortgage valuations and data on agreed sales.
Neither takes into account the price a property actually sold for like the ONS Land Registry, which could end up being higher or lower and some might not even sell at all.
Here’s the latest data from other indices:
IF you're looking for a traditional type of mortgage, getting the best rates depends entirely on what's available at any given time.
There are several ways to land the best deal.
Usually the larger the deposit you have the lower the rate you can get.
If you’re remortgaging and your loan-to-value ratio (LTV) has changed, you’ll get access to better rates than before.
Your LTV will go down if your outstanding mortgage is lower and/or your home’s value is higher.
A change to your credit score or a better salary could also help you access better rates.
And if you’re nearing the end of a fixed deal soon it’s worth looking for new deals now.
You can lock in current deals sometimes up to six months before your current deal ends.
Leaving a fixed deal early will usually come with an early exit fee, so you want to avoid this extra cost.
But depending on the cost and how much you could save by switching versus sticking, it could be worth paying to leave the deal – but compare the costs first.
To find the best deal use a mortgage comparison tool to see what’s available.
You can also go to a mortgage broker who can compare a much larger range of deals for you.
Some will charge an extra fee but there are plenty who give advice for free and get paid only on commission from the lender.
You’ll also need to factor in fees for the mortgage, though some have no fees at all.
You can add the fee – sometimes more than £1,000 – to the cost of the mortgage, but be aware that means you’ll pay interest on it and so will cost more in the long term.
You can use a mortgage calculator to see how much you could borrow.
Remember you’ll have to pass the lender’s strict eligibility criteria too, which will include affordability checks and looking at your credit file.
You may also need to provide documents such as utility bills, proof of benefits, your last three month’s payslips, passports and bank statements.
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