August was a key turning point in the ongoing struggle between salary and house price growth, offering hope for aspiring first-time buyers, according to analysis from Smartr365.
This comes as UK inflation hits 11.1%, the highest level recorded since October 1981, according to data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS).
The analysis also reveals that although average house prices have surged by 7.4% from December to September, August saw the first major sign of a slowdown – house price growth faltered from 2% in July to 0.9% in August and saw no change in September.
The shift in prices from July to August remains the biggest fall recorded this year.
Conor Murphy, CEO and founder of Smartr365, said: “With external economic forces continuing to affect mortgage rates, it’s more important than ever that buyers seek independent professional advice when looking to purchase a home.
“For their part, advisers need to be armed with the optimum tech tools if they are to serve customers quickly and efficiently.
“Rapid criteria searches, ID verification, and decision-in-principles are all worth their weight in gold as buyers look to capitalise on favourable trends, such as the one outlined today.”
Meanwhile, the analysis shows that average UK salaries have grown steadily since January, with no sign of a slowdown – on the contrary, they surged from 0.3% growth in August to 1.8% the following month.
While house prices have enjoyed larger monthly jumps, often over one percentage point, salary growth has been more modest but also more consistent.
This suggests a promising future for buyers, particularly first-time buyers, with salaries progressively rising whilst house prices are maintained, or indeed, even falling.
Murphy added: “Indeed, in what is somewhat of a ‘tortoise and the hare story’ we are seeing salaries steadily increase and house price growth start to tail off, bringing the two on to more an even keel.
“This is positive news for first time buyers, particularly as the cost-of-living continues to rise.”
