UK first-time buyers in best position to snap up property in a decade, data shows
Buyers attempting to get on to the property ladder in the UK have received a lift, after figures from Halifax showed they are in the best position to snap up a home in a decade.Britain’s biggest mortgage lender said that the average price of a UK property hit a record high of £299,892 in November, after a marginal month-on-month rise.However, Halifax said when property prices were compared with average incomes, affordability was at its strongest since late 2015.The lender added that taking into account higher interest rates – the average two-year fixed mortgage rate is 4.85%, according to Moneyfacts – mortgage costs as a share of incomewere at their lowest level in about three years.
“Affordability is improving as lenders ease criteria and reduce rates, which is putting those ready to proceed with their purchases now that the budget is out of the way in a stronger position,” said Mark Harris, the chief executive of the mortgage broker SPF Private Clients.Halifax said that house prices were “broadly unchanged” in November, with its monitor recording 0% month-on-month growth, after a 0.5% rise in October.Annual growth slowed to a 0.7% increase, down from a 1.
9% rise in October.Amanda Bryden, the head of mortgages at Halifax, said: “While slower growth may disappoint some existing homeowners, it’s welcome news for first-time buyers.Comparing property prices to average incomes, affordability is now at its strongest since late 2015.“Looking ahead, with market activity steady and expectations of further interest rate reductions to come, we anticipate property prices will continue to grow gradually into 2026.”Earlier this week Nationwide reported growth in house prices despite fears that buyer demand might be affected because of uncertainty before last month’s budget.
“Few were predicting record high prices following the budget, another reminder that UK house prices are often more resilient than we think,” said Anthony Codling, the managing director of equity research at RBC Capital Markets.“Perhaps without budget uncertainty they would have hit £300,000.”Codling said that with the Bank of England monetary policy committee likely to vote to cut interest rates at its next meeting later this month, house prices could pass the £300,000 milestone when figures for December are released.Sign up to Business TodayGet set for the working day – we'll point you to all the business news and analysis you need every morningafter newsletter promotionHalifax said its data showed a “clear north-south divide”, with prices falling in London and the south-east and east of England but rising in other areas including Scotland and the north-west of England.Northern Ireland continued to have the strongest growth, with prices up almost 9%.
Halifax said overall 2025 had been one of the most stable years for the housing market over the past decade,“The post-budget bounce is real, even when a budget is in late November,” said Amy Reynolds, the head of sales at the London estate agency Antony Roberts,“Our Saturday diaries are full for all our offices and our most expensive properties have had a new lease of life with viewings booked for most of them,”Earlier this week Nationwide said that the newly announced “mansion tax” would have a limited impact on the housing market,
Jimmy Kimmel on the Trump administration: ‘They have better-quality cabinets at Ikea’
Late-night hosts tore into Donald Trump’s five-hour Truth Social posting spree and his inability to stay awake during cabinet meetings.Jimmy Kimmel wasted no time in returning to his favorite target – Donald Trump – on Tuesday evening. “I know I’ve said this before, but for real this time: he went completely off the rails last night,” the host began. “The man who is allegedly running the country banged out an onslaught of posts and reposts in a furious social media blitzkrieg that started at 7.09pm, went nonstop until almost midnight
Norman conquest coin hoard to go on show in Bath before permanent display
The coins were buried in a valley in the English West Country almost 1,000 years ago at a time of huge political and social turmoil.A millennium on, plans have been announced to bring the Chew Valley Hoard, 2,584 silver coins hidden shortly after the Norman conquest, back to the south-west of England.The feelgood story of how the coins, worth more than £4m, were found by a band of metal detectorists will be told but visitors will also be encouraged to reflect on how the world continues to be gripped by worries about conflict, the actions of the powerful and money.Sam Astill, the chief executive of South West Heritage Trust, which acquired the hoard for the nation last year, said the idea was not just about showing off the coins and telling their history.He said: “There will also be a conversation about turning points, turning points in history or in people’s lives
Jon Stewart on Trump claiming not to know about his own MRI: ‘That’s not physically possible’
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A Traitors cloak, Britpop Trumps and a very arty swearbox: it’s the 2025 Culture Christmas gift guide!
Put some artful oomph into your festive season with our bumper guide, featuring everything from a satanic South Park shirt to Marina Abramović’s penis salt and pepper potsThe Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link. Learn more.Is there an overly sweary person in your life? Do you have a friend who’s utterly bereft without The Traitors? Would anyone you know like to shake up their cocktail-making? And do you ever wish your neighbours’ doormat was, well, a bit more kinky?The Guardian’s journalism is independent. We will earn a commission if you buy something through an affiliate link
Comedian Judi Love: ‘I’m a big girl, the boss, and you love it’
Judi Love was 17 when she was kidnapped, though she adds a couple of years on when reliving it on stage. It was only the anecdote’s second to-audience outing when I watched her recite it, peppered with punchlines, at a late-October work-in-progress gig. The bones of her new show – All About the Love, embarking on a 23-date tour next year – are very much still evolving, but this Wednesday night in Bedford is a sell out, such is the pull of Love’s telly star power.She starts by twerking her way into the spotlight, before riffing on her career as a social worker and trading “chicken and chips for champagne and ceviche”. Interspersed are opening bouts of sharp crowd work – Love at her free-wheeling best
Fran Lebowitz: ‘Hiking is the most stupid thing I could ever imagine’
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