Average property price in the UK rose to a record £267,600 this month from March’s £265,312. Since April last year, property prices have seen £29,000 added, which is now well over £50,000 more than it was just before the global Covid-19 pandemic got underway.

The Nationwide house price index, released today, rose 12.1 per cent in April compared with the same month last year. However, this was down from 14.3 per cent in March, a sign that prices are cooling.

The widely reported robust labour market may be having an effect in keeping prices heading in the right direction but as the cost-of-living crisis starts to bite,  analysts are now almost unanimous that a cooldown in property price inflation is close on the horizon.

As interest rates rise to combat inflation and energy prices continue to cause a problem for household budgets, a slowdown in the property market looks to be inevitable, where property prices are predicted to slow to an almost complete standstill.