Rise in house prices builds ...to £272,000

HOME buyers have not been put off by the end of the stamp duty holiday as prices increased by 0.6% in July following a 0.9% fall in the previous month.

- By Vicky Shaw

This took the average value up to £272,664. The annual rate of growth accelerated to 2.4% in July, from 2.1% in June, said the Nationwide.

The building society's Robert Gardner said: "Looking through the volatility generated by the end of the stamp duty holiday, activity appears to be holding up well.

"Indeed, 64,200 mortgages for house purchase were approved in June, broadly in line with the pre-pandemic average, despite the changed interest rate environment.

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