House prices will rise by 2.5% as the economy improves and mortgage rates fall, Savills says

Property firm Savills predicts that house prices will rise by 2.5% this year

House prices will rise by 2.5 percent this year due to an improved economic outlook and lower mortgage costs, property company Savills has predicted.

Prices were previously expected to fall by 3 percent.

Savills’ forecast is the latest to paint a more optimistic picture. Lloyds, Britain’s largest mortgage lender, also recently said prices have risen this year. Lucian Cook, head of residential research at Savills, said the outlook has improved since the last forecast in November.

“Mortgage costs have come down slightly and are much less volatile,” Cook said.

Savills has also updated its longer-term expectations, forecasting prices to rise by 21.6 per cent by the end of 2028 – adding £61,500 to the value of a home worth £285,000 on average at the end of 2023.

It comes as the UK economy recovers from last year’s recession.

Figures to be published later this week by the Office for National Statistics expect the economy to have grown by 0.4 percent in the first quarter of this year, ending the downturn.