House prices climbed at their fastest pace in more than a year last month, as the market rebounded from disruption caused by changes to stamp duty.
The average UK property value rose 3.7 per cent to £269,000 in the 12 months to June, up from 2.7 per cent growth in May, according to the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The acceleration came after the threshold at which buyers pay stamp duty was cut from £250,000 to £125,000 in April, a move that briefly cooled activity before prices bounced back.
It comes amid a backdrop of cooling interest rates, which dropped again to 4 per cent earlier this month.
Jean Jameson, chief sales officer at Foxtons, said more people will be buying houses following the interest rate cut, and we can expect to see this pick up in the autumn.
Average house prices increased to £291,000 (3.3 per cent) in England, £210,000 (2.6 per cent) in Wales, and £192,000 (5.9 per cent) in Scotland, in the 12 months to June.
Meanwhile, average UK monthly private rents increased by 5.9 per cent, to £1,343, in the 12 months to July, the statistics body said.
Average rents increased to £1,398 (6.0 per cent) in England, £807 (7.9 per cent) in Wales, and £999 (3.6 per cent) in Scotland, in the 12 months to July.
Kensington and Chelsea remains the most expensive place to buy a home in the UK, with the average property costing £1.46 million, according to the ONS. Prices there edged up by 2 per cent over the past year.
The City of Westminster took second place, with homes averaging just over £1 million, although values fell by 3.3 per cent.
Camden came in third, where prices rose 4.1 per cent to £876,065, followed by the City of London at £845,614 after a 0.4 per cent increase.
Richmond upon Thames saw one of the strongest annual rises, with prices climbing 6.2 per cent to £825,299.
At the other end, sharp declines were recorded in Wandsworth (-7 per cent) and Islington (-5 per cent), despite average prices still topping £679,000 and £701,000 respectively.
Elmbridge in Surrey had the fastest growth among the top 10, as prices jumped 7.4 per cent to £755,879, while Haringey saw a 5.4 per cent rise to £626,67.
Elliott Jordan-Doak, senior UK economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics, said: “House prices are recovering quickly from the disruption caused by the hike to stamp duty in April.
“Month-to-month house price inflation can be volatile at the best of times, so the sharp gains in house prices in May and June could be partly undone by a fall in July’s data.
“But cutting through the noise, we think fundamental housing demand remains solid, indicating that house prices can continue to rise steadily over the course of the second half of 2025.”
