The housing market has been resilient in the wake of the Brexit vote last year. Housing prices were expected by experts to fall dramatically, yet buyers remained in the market. The low interest prices were thought to be the reason as lenders kept mortgage offers at historical levels.

Buyers have not been exploding onto the market, but there has remained good enough traffic to keep house prices from bottoming out. Much of the change in the average UK house price has been impacted due to the loss of strength in the London housing market. London had been contributing strongly to the average house price even throughout the recession, yet the market there has cooled, and that has caused the average to drift downward from the stable, if not climbing spot since Brexit.

In May, there was an actual increase in the average house price which was the first in five months. It may not have been so much the continued low interest rates that contributed this round, but more so the shortage of properties coming into the market.

The average house price in May according to Halifax increased by 0.4% to £220,706. This was in contrast to the expected decline of 0.1% for the month.

The forecast for the housing market for the rest of the year is not for as robust a showing as 2016, but it is still expected to increase by 6.5% for 2017.

This should keep hopeful home buyers confident in the market and with interest rates still excitingly attractive in both mortgages and remortgages, even homeowners will stay in the lending arena seeking to take advantage of the opportunities available.