Five questions on: Property prices

Are they still going up?

Yes, according to the latest Halifax House Price Index, published yesterday. It revealed that in the past year prices have soared 8.5 per cent, while over the month they've climbed 1.6 per cent to leave the average property at £196,412. That works out at an increase of around £100 a day during April.

Is that higher than expected?

Not really. The Halifax says: "Housing demand is being supported by a number of factors, including economic improvement, rising employment and low mortgage sales. At the same time, supply remains very tight with a general shortage of properties available for sale. The combination has kept house price inflation steady in recent months, with prices increasing at an annual rate of 8-9 per cent."

But will prices keep rising in future?

Yes, but growth will slow, reckons the Halifax. It predicts that the annual rate of house price growth will end the year at 3-5 per cent.

What effect will the election result have on prices?

Experts think the Conservative victory will be good news for the property market in that it will lead to more homes coming up for sale – which should actually dampen down house price inflation. Jonathan Hopper of the buying agent Garrington Property Finders said: "Many would-be sellers have been waiting to see who'd be in power, and this temporary lack of supply has artificially driven up prices. Now the waiting is over and a majority Conservative government is on the table, it should have a positive impact on the housing market."

So prices will continue to rise, but not by as much?

That seems to be the consensus. Experts are looking forward to a "healthy level of buyers and sellers". That should help everyone by improving the frustratingly slow rate of housing transactions experienced in recent times.