Average UK house price falls for first time in a year

House prices marked their first decrease since June last year, dropping slightly last month to stand at an average price of £293,221. Prices fell by a marginal 0.1% in July, according to Friday’s Halifax House Price Index. The annual rate of growth eased to +11.8% (from +12.5%), with Wales showing the strongest annual growth in the country. In Scotland, the average house price was at a record high of £203,677, although it did see a slight slowdown in annual house price growth in July, to 9.6% from 9.9% the previous month.  “While we shouldn’t read too much into any single month, especially as the fall is only fractional, a slowdown in annual house price growth has been expected for some time,” Russell Galley, Halifax managing director, said. “Leading indicators of the housing market have recently shown a softening of activity, while rising borrowing costs are adding to the squeeze on household budgets against a backdrop of exceptionally high house price-to-income ratios.” 

City A.M. (05/08/2022)