Published by Global Banking & Finance Review®
Posted on February 28, 2025
2 min readLast updated: January 25, 2026
Add as preferred source on GoogleUK house prices rose 0.4% in February, surpassing expectations, as buyers hurried to beat a tax break deadline, according to Nationwide.
LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in February compared with January, according to data published by mortgage lender Nationwide on Friday, adding to signs of buyers rushing to beat the expiry of a tax break next month.
The increase was stronger than all forecasts in a Reuters poll of economists which had pointed to a 0.2% monthly rise after January's increase of 0.1%.
Several measures of Britain's housing market have shown a recovery in demand, helped by falling borrowing costs and also by buyers moving quickly before a tax incentive on the purchase on some homes expires at the end of March.
Robert Gardner, Nationwide's chief economist, said the stamp duty changes were likely to generate near-term volatility in transactions as buyers brought forward their purchases.
"This will likely lead to a jump in transactions in March, and a corresponding period of weakness in the following months, as occurred in the wake of previous stamp duty changes," Gardner said.
Property website Rightmove said earlier this month that a run-up in asking prices for newly listed homes was losing steam ahead of the tax change.
A Reuters poll published on Tuesday showed British home prices were expected to rise by 3.5% this year - faster than previously forecast - and by 4.0% in 2026, helped by further reductions in interest rates by the Bank of England.
Nationwide said house prices were up by 3.9% compared with February last year, slightly slower than January's 4.1% rise.
(Writing by William Schomberg; editing by William James)
UK house prices rose by a stronger-than-expected 0.4% in February compared with January.
The recovery in demand is helped by falling borrowing costs and buyers moving quickly before a tax incentive on some home purchases expires.
Robert Gardner mentioned that stamp duty changes are likely to generate near-term volatility in transactions as buyers bring forward their purchases.
A Reuters poll showed British home prices are expected to rise by 3.5% this year, faster than previously forecast.
Nationwide reported that house prices were up by 3.9% compared with February last year.
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