House prices fall 1.5%
By myfinances.co.uk staff
House prices fell by 1.5 per cent in February, according to the latest Halifax house price index.
The fall is the first decline since June 2009 but the lender said average prices remained 8 per cent higher than the low point reached last April. Between August 2007 and April 2009 house prices fell 23%. The average price for a property was now £166,857, it added.
The lack of houses on the property market had been a key factor in pushing up house prices since last April. But the recent improvement in market conditions had encouraged more homeonwers to attempt to sell their property, Halifax added.
As a result the number of properties available for sale increased for the second successive month in February and the increased supply of properties had helped to push prices lower.
At the same time, the bad weather in the first two months of 2010, together with the return of the lowest stamp duty threshold to £125,000, had an adverse impact on housing demand.
Simon Rubinsohn, chief economist at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, said there was no doubt the poor weather and the ending of the stamp duty holiday had had an impact on the housing market in terms of creating a greater level of volatility in both prices and transaction levels.
He added: "The underlying trend remains more positive than some of the recent headline numbers would suggest. Indeed, the monthly level of sales should rebound in the coming months and may well end the year nearer to 70,000 rather the 60,000 area recorded at the back end of last year.
"Meanwhile, even with more supply coming onto the market, the likelihood is that prices will resume an upward trend albeit at a more modest pace than seen during the latter part of 2009."
But Mr Rubinsohn warned conditions for the housing market was set to become more challenging as public spending was cut, taxes go up and the cost of mortgage finance began to rise.
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