House prices starting to decline, says Halifax

Further signs this could be a rocky year for house prices emerged on Wednesday in the latest index from the Halifax.

Britain’s biggest mortgages lender said prices were down 0.7% in the past quarter, the first such fall since May last year.

While they were up 0.4% in February to a UK average of £224,353, that follows two consecutive down months.

The likely prospect of interest rate rises from the Bank of England before long is one issue asserting pressure downwards, though mortgages are still cheap.

Russell Galley, managing director at the Halifax, said: “House prices continue to remain broadly flat, as they have since the end of last year. The annual rate of growth has slowed from 2.2% in January to 1.8% in February, the lowest rate of growth since March 2013.”

Howard Archer at the EY Item Club said: “We believe 2018 will be a difficult year for the housing market.”