UK house prices saw strong annual growth in April, but a more moderate monthly rise, while rental inflation continued to ease, according to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data.

Average UK house prices rose 3.8% year-on-year to £270,000 in April, compared with flat annual growth in March. However, the increase was largely driven by a base effect following sharp price falls a year earlier after stamp duty changes in England and Northern Ireland.

On a monthly basis, prices increased by 0.7% between March and April.

Across the country, the UK House Price Index (HPI) from the ONS shows that average house prices reached £291,000 (3.9%) in England, £212,000 (3.5%) in Wales, and £192,000 (2.8%) in Scotland, in the 12 months to April.

Meanwhile, rental inflation continued to moderate, the latest drop in a downward trend that set in from December 2024. Average monthly private rents rose 3.3% annually to £1,383 in May, down from 3.5% in April and extending a wider slowdown that has been underway since late 2024. Rent growth remained strongest in the North East at 5.9% and weakest in London at 2.0%.

Commenting on the ONS data, Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, said: “Hats off to the property market for its resilience in April. It may not be charging ahead, but it’s treading water in fairly rough conditions. The annual rise of 3.8% isn’t as good as it looks, because it’s distorted by a sharp fall a year earlier in the wake of the end of the stamp duty holiday.

"Most of these buyers and sellers agreed sales before the war in Iran changed the environment significantly, but they did a decent job of clinging onto agreed sales and resisting price cuts in order to get these completions over the line."

Ian Futcher, financial planner at Quilter, added: "The important development for the housing market is now what happens to interest rate expectations. Today’s inflation figures were unchanged, with CPI holding at 2.8%, while the prospect of a US-Iran peace deal has helped reduce the immediate risk of another energy-driven inflation shock. That should make it less likely that the Bank of England feels forced into raising rates at this week’s meeting."

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