Property owners will have seen their houses rise in price by almost ten per cent over the last year, even without adding value by making home improvements like fitting a conservatory in Cheshire or installing a new kitchen.
According to the Halifax House Price Index for April 2016, property values in the three months leading to April rose by 9.2 per cent year-on-year, taking the average cost of a home in the UK to £212,321.
Martin Ellis, housing economist for Halifax, said the imbalance between supply and demand is forcing prices to continually increase.
“This situation, combined with low interest rates and rising employment and real earnings, should continue to push house prices up over the coming months,” Mr Ellis went on to say.
Despite a monthly dip of 0.8 per cent, overall house prices increased by 1.5 per cent from the previous quarter.
Indeed, values have risen from £196,958 in April 2015, an increase of £15,363.
With property values continually growing, it is hardly surprising more homebuyers are seeking financial assistance from their parents.
Research by Legal & General and CEBR found mums and dads will lend £5 billion this year to help their children get on the property ladder, providing deposits for more than 300,000 mortgages.
The ‘bank of mum and dad’ will typically lend £17,500 to each of their offspring to buy a home, which is seven per cent of the value of the property on average. Together, parents are going to help children buy more than £77 billion worth of homes this year – with this figure constantly increasing as the value of properties rise.
