UK house prices ‘likely to keep rising despite hitting record high’

Halifax says average selling price rose by almost £22,000 year on year in May as stamp duty deadline nears

House prices are likely to continue rising for some time despite hitting a new record high in May, one of Britain’s biggest mortgage lenders has said.

The monthly snapshot of the property market from Halifax showed a 1.3% jump in the cost of a home in May, taking the average selling price to a record £261,743 as homebuyers raced to complete purchases before the stamp duty holiday begins to run down at the end of this month.