UK median home price adds just £3,116 in February, Halifax says, as ‘general downtrend’ continues
- House price growth slowed in all regions of the UK in February
- In cash, house prices are down around £8,500 from their August 2022 peak
- Apartment prices have now been in negative territory for the past 12 months
According to Halifax’s latest home price index, annual home price growth remained flat at 2.1 percent for the third month in a row.
The market also saw slow month-on-month growth with prices rising by just £3,116 in February, taking the average UK house price to £286,476.
This monthly growth of 1.1 percent is slightly higher than the price increase of 0.2 percent in February.
Marginal increase: Typical UK property now costs £285,476, compared to £282,360 last month
In cash, however, house prices are down by around £8,500 (-2.9 per cent) from their August 2022 peak.
They remain nearly £9,000 above average prices at the start of 2022 and are still above pre-pandemic levels.
Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said: “Recent mortgage rate cuts, improving consumer confidence and continued resilience in the labor market are likely to help stabilize prices after the declines in November and December.
Still, with the cost of a home falling on a quarterly basis, underlying activity continues to show an overall downward trend.
‘With a persistently high average house price, the affordability of homes will remain a challenge for many buyers.’
Slower growth: House price growth slowed in all countries and regions in February
Across the UK, house price growth slowed across all regions in February, but the sharpest fall was in the North East. The region grew by 3.6 percent in January, but has since fallen to 1.1 percent.
By property type, apartment prices are now in negative territory over the past 12 months, down 0.3 percent, while prices for townhouses have largely stagnated, rising only 0.3 percent.
Prices of detached houses have increased by only 1.5 percent on an annual basis, the smallest increase since the end of 2019.