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Halifax: house prices staying flat
The bank's latest House Price Index shows house prices going nowhere as demand disappears.
Halifax: house prices staying flat
Halifax’s May House Price Index shows prices have risen in the last few months but the longer-term picture is flat.
Prices rose by 0.5% in May and 0.8% between March and May. However, prices are down 0.1% on this time a year ago. The average price of a home is £160,941.
The brief flurry of activity caused by the end of the Stamp Duty holiday for first-time buyers in March now seems to have well and truly ended.
Martin Ellis, Halifax's Housing Economist, said: "We expect this situation to continue with prices likely to still be around today's levels at the end of 2012 as the ongoing tough economic environment constrains housing demand."
[SPOTLIGHT]Halifax’s figures are broadly mirrored by May’s Nationwide's house price report, which showed prices rose by 0.3% in May but fell by 0.7% on a year ago.
Nationwide says the price of an average home is now £166,022.
Earlier in the month, property analysts Hometrack’s May figures showed falls in the volumes of properties being listed, the number of sales agreed and the number of new buyers registering with estate agents.
It found that London, the South East and East Anglia were the only regions in England and Wales where prices were rising.
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