House prices fall 0.6 per cent in July - Halifax

BRITISH house prices fell by 0.6 per cent in July, mortgage lender Halifax said today, a marginally bigger fall than economists had forecast but one that leaves the pattern of broadly stable prices intact.

By The Newsroom

Published 6th Aug 2012, 09:37 BST

House prices in the three months to July are 0.6 per cent down on a year earlier, in line with forecasts and similar to the annual drop Halifax reported in June, and overall price levels are close to those seen in summer 2009.

“At a national level, house prices have been very stable over the past year or so. This can largely be explained by the static nature of supply and demand conditions during this period,” said Halifax housing economist Martin Ellis.

“Looking forward, we expect little change in prices over the remainder of 2012 so long as the economic climate in the UK does not worsen substantially,” he added.

Halifax is part of Lloyds Banking Group, one of Britain’s biggest retail banks.