UK house price growth hits 19-year high of 15.5% in July due to tax effect

LONDON (Reuters) - British house prices leapt in July by 15.5% in annual terms, the biggest increase since May 2003, reflecting how prices in the same month last year were hit by the end of a tax break for home-buyers, the Office for National Statistics said.

July's increase represented a sharp jump from June's 7.8% rise in prices which was a sharp slowdown from May.

A Reuters poll published last month showed the surge in British house prices is expected to end next year as the cost-of-living crisis and rising interest rates put the brakes on the market.

(This story has been refiled to add dropped word in headline)

(Reporting by William Schomberg, editing by Andy Bruce)