House prices post lowest growth this year in October - Halifax
By Michele Maatouk
Date: Thursday 07 Nov 2019
(Sharecast News) - UK house prices recorded their weakest growth this year in October, according to figures released by mortgage lender Halifax on Thursday.
House prices were up 0.9% from the same month a year ago, down from 1.1% growth in September and missing expectations for a 1.4% increase.
On the month, prices slipped 0.1%, which was an improvement on the 0.4% decline seen in September but below expectations for a 0.3% increase.
Halifax managing director Russell Galley said that while the month-on-month increase marked the lowest growth this year, "it again extends the largely flat trend which has taken hold over recent months".
"A number of underlying factors such as mortgage affordability and wage growth continue to support prices, however there is evidence of consumers erring on the side of caution.
"We remain unchanged from our view that activity levels and price growth will remain subdued while the UK navigates political and economic uncertainty."
Capital Economics economist Hansen Lu said: "A recent revamp of the Halifax index in August means that the measure is now broadly in line with the other main indices. Indeed, the latest slowdown in annual house price growth, down from 1.1% last month, means that every house price measure -except for the official index - now has house prices growing slower than 1% per year.
"Looking ahead, the trend of sluggish house price growth is unlikely to change any time soon. In the near term, Brexit uncertainty will discourage buyers from competing aggressively in terms of price. And the big picture is that, in the past, faster rates of house price growth were enabled by a sustained decline in mortgage interest rates. But with mortgage interest rates now at or close to their floor, that force has now been expended."
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