House prices stayed level
in January although the
annual rate of growth continued
to fall, Britain's biggest
mortgage lender says.
The average cost of a home
in the UK was unchanged
during the month at £197,244,
said the Halifax.
But annual house price
inflation fell to 4.5% for
the year to the end of January
to its lowest figure since
November 2005, down on the
previous month's figure
of 5.2%.
The latest figures follow
a rise in house prices in
December, but the cost of
property was down during
each of the previous three
months.
Halifax said prices for
the three months to the
end of January were 1% lower
than in the previous quarter
- the third consecutive
fall on this basis.
The group added that it
did not think the more positive
data seen during the previous
two months was a sign that
the current housing market
slowdown was bottoming out.
But Martin Ellis, Halifax
chief economist, said the
figures offered "some
reassurance" that the
market was not heading for
a long, sustained fall in
prices.
"We expect sound economic
fundamentals and lower interest
rates to support house prices,"
he said.
The group expects 2008
to be a difficult year for
the housing market, and
predicts house prices will
end the year at the same
level as they started it,
he added.
Halifax said there were
continuing signs of weakness
in activity, with the number
of mortgages approved for
people buying a house falling
by more than a third during
the final quarter of 2007.
But, it said, there were
signs that the downturn
in activity may be stabilising,
with the rate at which inquiries
from new buyers were declining,
slowing recently.
Halifax's figures are in
line with those reported
by Nationwide Building Society,
which showed house prices
edged ahead by just 0.1%
during January.
