House Prices Rise Again As Mortgage Rates Ease
House prices rose again last month and there are signs that activity in the market is picking up, according to the UK's biggest mortgage lender.
Halifax said prices rose by 0.5% in November, the second increase in a row.
It said recent figures for mortgage approvals suggested "a slight uptick" in activity among buyers as the cost of home loans eases.
However, prices are still lower than a year ago, and Halifax said the market would remain under pressure in 2024.
Property prices are 1% lower than in November last year, the lender said, with the average property costing £283,615.
Halifax's findings echo that of rival lender Nationwide, who said last week that prices had risen in November but remained lower than a year earlier.
Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said prices had "held up better than expected" over the past year.
However, she added that house prices continued to be "underpinned by a shortage of properties available, rather than any significant strengthening of buyer demand".
Despite this, increasing numbers of mortgage approvals suggest that the recent falls in mortgage interest rates "may be leading to increased buyer confidence, seeing people more inclined to push ahead with their home purchases".