Halifax has reported that house prices in the latest quarter (November-January) were 0.6% lower than in the preceding three months (August – October).
In the three months to January, prices were 0.8% higher than in the same three months a year earlier – down from the 1.3% annual growth rate recorded in December.
On a monthly basis, house prices fell by 2.9% in January, following a 2.5% rise in December.
The average house price is now £223,691.
Russell Galley, managing director at Halifax, said: “Attention will no doubt be drawn towards the monthly fall of -2.9% from December to January, the second time in three years that we have seen a drop as a new year starts. However, the bigger picture is actually that house prices have seen next to no movement over the last year, with annual growth of just 0.8%.
“This could either be viewed as a story of resilience, as prices have held up well in the face of significant economic uncertainty, or as a continuation of the slow growth we’ve witnessed over recent years.
“There’s no doubt that the next year will be important for the housing market with much of the immediate focus on what impact Brexit may have. However, more fundamentally it is key underlying factors of supply and demand that will ultimately shape the market.
“On the supply side the most constraining factor to the health of the market is the shortage of stock for sale, although this does support price levels. On the demand side we see very high employment levels, improving real wage growth, low inflation and low mortgage rates. All positive drivers tempered by the challenges of raising deposits. On balance therefore we expect price growth to remain subdued in the near term.”
