Kim Kinnaird, Mortgages Director at Halifax, comments on the pandemic's impact on UK house prices and the increased demand for bigger homes.

New research, based on data from the Halifax House Price Index, has examined how the rate of house price growth – driven by fundamental shift in buyer demand – has varied for different property types across the country since the start of 2020.

At a national level, average UK house prices grew by 20.4% between January 2020 and December 2022, up by £48,620 (from £237,895 to £286,515). For comparison, in the three years prior (January 2017 to December 2019), average house prices grew by just 7.8%, or £17,158.

By the start of 2021, annual growth for detached homes had jumped to 9.2%. Fuelled further by cuts to Stamp Duty, across the UK, the average price of a detached home rose by 25.9% or £93,345 between the start of 2020 and the end of 2022.

Kim Kinnaird, Mortgages Director, Halifax, said:

The pandemic transformed the shape of the UK property market, and while some of those effects have faded over time, it’s important we don’t lose sight of the huge step change seen in average house prices.

Heightened demand created a much higher entry point for bigger properties right across the country, and that impact is still being felt today by both buyers and sellers, despite the market starting to slow overall.

Full release: Three years on: How the pandemic reshaped the UK housing market

✉️ Gregor Low, Lloyds Banking Group, gregor.low@lloydsbanking.com