UK House Prices Fall For First Time In Six Months
House prices fell in March for the first time in six months, according to the latest data from Halifax.
The lender said prices dropped by 1% last month, with higher mortgage rates affecting affordability for prospective buyers.
The average house price fell by about £2,900 to £288,430.
However, Halifax said that house prices were still ahead of where they were last year.
Prices were 0.3% higher in March from a year earlier, although that was down from the 1.6% annual increase seen in February.
Kim Kinnaird, director of Halifax Mortgages, said the monthly fall in prices between February and March was "not entirely unexpected particularly in view of the reset the market has been going through since interest rates began to rise sharply in 2022".
"Despite this house prices have shown surprising resilience in the face of significantly higher borrowing costs," she said.
“Affordability constraints continue to be a challenge for prospective buyers, while existing homeowners on cheaper fixed-term deals are yet to feel the full effect of higher interest rates."
Halifax's findings echo rival lender Nationwide, which earlier this week also reported a fall in house prices during March.