The South West saw the biggest rise in house prices in the UK in the second quarter of the year, new data from Nationwide shows.
The region overtook Wales as the strongest-performing region, with house prices up 14.7% year-on-year - a slight increase from the previous quarter - while London remained the weakest area for growth.
East Anglia, where annual price growth remained at 14.2%, came in second behind the South West, while Wales saw a slowing in annual price growth to 13.4%, from 15.3% in the first quarter, to take third place in the rankings.
Price growth in Northern Ireland was similar to last quarter at 11.0%, while Scotland saw a 9.5% year-on-year rise in house prices.
Overall, UK annual house price growth slowed to 10.7% in June, from 11.2% in May. Prices rose by 0.3% month-on-month, after taking account of seasonal effects, the 11th consecutive monthly increase.
The price of a typical UK home climbed to a new record high of £271,613, with average prices increasing by over £26,000 in the past year.
UK house price growth since 2020
The building society said the South West was also the strongest-performing region for house price growth during the pandemic, with a 27.7% increase, followed by Wales at 26.2% and the North West, where prices were up 25.8%.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said: “These trends may reflect a shift in housing preferences; our housing market surveys have pointed to the majority of people looking to move to less urban areas."
Nationwide research found that predominantly rural areas had seen stronger price growth in recent years than urban areas. There was also strong growth in a number of areas closely associated with tourism, including parts of Devon, South Wales, the Cotswolds and the Broads.
“This suggests some of the demand may be being driven by those buying holiday or second homes,” added Mr Gardner.
What will happen to house prices in 2022?
Nationwide said it expected the market to “slow further” as pressure on household finances intensified in the coming quarters and with inflation expected to reach double digits towards the end of the year.
“There are tentative signs of a slowdown, with the number of mortgages approved for house purchases falling back towards pre-pandemic levels in April and surveyors reporting some softening in new buyer enquiries," he said.
“Nevertheless, the housing market has retained a surprising amount of momentum given the mounting pressure on household budgets from high inflation, which has already driven consumer confidence to a record low.”
Mr Gardner said part of the resilience could be due to the current strength of the labour market, where the number of job vacancies has exceeded the number of unemployed people in recent months.
“At the same time, the stock of homes on the market has remained low, which has helped to keep upward pressure on house prices,” he added.
Nationwide's quarterly regional house price statistics (Q2 2022)
The figures are for the three months to June and show a different UK average price and annual percentage change to Nationwide's monthly house price statistics.
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