UK House Prices Rise For First Time In 7 Months - Halifax

(RTTNews) - House prices in the UK rose in October, after falling for six months in a row and at a faster than expected pace despite the subdued market, results of a survey by the Lloyds Bank subsidiary Halifax and S&P Global showed Tuesday.

The house price index rose 1.1 percent from September, when they declined 0.3 percent. Economists had forecast a 0.2 percent gain.

Property prices fell 3.2 percent year-on-year after a 4.5 percent slump in September. That marked the sixth month of decline.

A typical UK home now costs GBP 281,974, which is GBP 3,000 more than that in the previous month.

"Prospective sellers appear to be taking a cautious attitude, leading to a low supply of homes for sale," Kim Kinnaird, director at Halifax Mortgages, said.

"This is likely to have strengthened prices in the short-term, rather than prices being driven by buyer demand, which remains weak overall."

Higher interest rates and wider affordability pressures remained the main challenges faced by buyers though their income has increased due to wage hikes.

"Across the medium-term, with financial markets not anticipating a decline in the Bank of England's Base Rate soon, we expect house prices to fall further overall - with a return to growth from 2025," Kinnaird said.

"The current picture should continue to be seen in the context of the longer-term house price trend as, on average, prices remain around GBP 40,000 above pre-pandemic levels."

Meanwhile, the first-time buyer demand showed signs of resilience. Prices for first-time buyers dropped 2.4 percent annually, which was markedly less severe a fall than the 3.2 percent decline over the past year, Halifax said.

Among regions, South East England continued to the biggest annual decline in house prices.

London continues to top the list with the highest average house price in the UK, at GBP 524,057, which was 4.6 less from a year ago.