UK house prices stabilise after four-month fall, Halifax says

Halifax reports that after falling for the previous four months, UK home prices were roughly level in January.

According to the lender, after significant drops of 1.3% in December and 2.4% in November, average prices were unchanged at £281,684 last month.

The rate of annual growth in home prices, however, has dropped to 1.9% from 2.1% in December, which is the lowest rate since October 2019, as rising mortgage rates and the larger cost of living problem have tempered demand. The average house price is still around £5,000 more than it was a year ago, but it has dropped by approximately £12,500, or 4.2%, from its August peak.

“We expected that the squeeze on household incomes from the rising cost of living and higher interest rates would lead to a slower housing market, particularly compared to the rapid growth of recent years,” the director of Halifax Mortgages, Kim Kinnaird, said. “As we move through 2023, that trend is likely to continue as higher borrowing costs lead to reduced demand.”