According to a report from Halifax, the UK's largest mortgage lender, house prices rose by 0.5% in November, marking the second consecutive month of growth. This suggests that activity in the UK real estate market is gradually recovering, a trend linked to increased market expectations for a rate cut by the Bank of England.

The decline in the UK inflation rate has led to a gradual increase in expectations for a rate cut by the Bank of England. According to the London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) money market, rates are expected to fall to 4% by the end of next year. This expectation has prompted major UK banks to gradually lower mortgage interest rates, making homeownership more affordable. Recent data shows a slight increase in buyer activity as the cost of housing loans has decreased.

However, despite the rise in house prices, they remain lower compared to a year ago. Halifax notes that prices decreased by 1% compared to November of the previous year, with the average house price being £283,615. Additionally, the UK real estate market still faces issues of insufficient supply.

For a long time, the UK has been grappling with a housing shortage, with the annual addition of new homes falling significantly short of demand. While the decrease in mortgage interest rates may stimulate homebuying demand, supply remains a constraining factor.

Halifax's data shows that Northern Ireland is the region with the strongest performance in house prices, with a 2.3% increase compared to the same period last year, with an average price of £189,684. House prices in Scotland remained unchanged from the same period last year, while prices in Wales fell by 1.5%. The southeast of England experienced the most significant drop in house prices, with an annual decline of 5.7%, with an average price of £373,943. London continues to be the most expensive region in the UK real estate market, with an average price of £524,592, although it declined by 3.8% compared to the previous year.

It's important to note that Halifax's data only considers mortgage-buying buyers and does not include buyers who purchase homes with cash or through buy-to-let transactions. According to official data, cash buyers currently account for over one-third of home sales. In the past two years, despite falling house prices, cash buyers and those who locked in prices during this period have emerged as the biggest winners.