Nothing seems to stop the relentless march of property values, even with a stamp duty increase looming

It’s been a bumpy ride for the housing market in recent years, after Liz Truss’s disastrous mini budget of September 2022 created a surge in borrowing costs that have cost many households dearly.

But despite elevated mortgage and rent costs, the market this year has turned out to be “surprisingly resilient”, according to Nationwide building society. Experts had expected house prices to stay flat or fall, but average prices are expected to have risen by more than 3% in 2024, after falling by 1.4% in 2023.