UK House Prices Unexpectedly Surge Amid Early Iran Conflict

UK house prices saw an unexpected rise in March, according to data from one of Britain's largest mortgage lenders. Despite the onset of the Iran conflict, demand appeared resilient, with the average house value increasing by 0.9% to £277,186, surpassing the previous month's 0.3% rise. This marks the largest increase since December 2024, defying economists' expectations of stability. According to Jin10, the report provides an early snapshot of UK housing demand following the February 28th Israeli attack on Iran. The conflict has raised borrowing costs and caused global market turbulence, yet buyers showed strong resilience initially. On an annual basis, house prices rose by 2.2%. Private sector data indicates that despite weak official figures in January, particularly in London, the UK real estate market started the year positively. The Bank of England reported that housing loans grew in February for the first time in five months.