UK house prices stall for second straight month as agents warn of summer slump

UK house price growth stalled for a second consecutive month in June as rising interest rates triggered by the war in Iran hurt homebuyer demand and agents warned of a summer slump. The average price of a typical UK home edged down to £277,484 last month from £278,024 a month earlier, after a 0.6% month-on-month fall in May , according to the lender Nationwide. Economists had forecast a small monthly rise of 0.1% in June. “There is the familiar pre-summer push from families wanting to be settled before the new school year, but the mood is steady and selective rather than booming or stalling,” said Amy Reynolds, the head of sales at the London estate agency Antony Roberts. “We expect a quieter, price-sensitive summer, with activity firming again in the autumn once buyers have more clarity on rates and the geopolitical noise has died down.” While mortgage rates have dipped slightly in recent weeks, after the price of oil returning to pre-conflict levels , they remain well above what was on offer in the market before the Iran war began. On Tuesday the average two-year fixed mortgage rate stood at 5.53%, up from 4.83% at the start of March, according to Moneyfacts. The average five-year fixed-rate mortgage was also 5.53%, up from 4.95%. “Nationwide’s figures reflect a softening housing market,” said Gareth Lewis, the deputy chief executive of the specialist lender MT Finance. …