The most recent Halifax house price survey showed that house prices were down 0.6 per cent in June compared with May, which also saw a monthly fall of 0.5 per cent.
These results meant that prices in the second quarter of 2010 were 0.1 per cent lower than in the first quarter. Halifax said that this was caused by more properties coming onto the housing market and less house buyer activity.
With the average home in the UK valued at ?166,203, house prices were still 6.3 per cent higher than 12 months earlier, but these latest figures seemed to be a sign of a stutter in the recovery.
The figures were no great surprise according to Halifax’s housing economist Martin Ellis. He said that house prices were likely to be unstable over the coming months, but generally flat over the rest of the year.
He said: “This pattern is in line with our view that house prices will be broadly unchanged over 2010 as a whole. A shortage of properties for sale in 2009 contributed to an imbalance between supply and demand and was a key factor driving up house prices last year.”
He added that more properties available for sale in recent months had helped to reduce the imbalance which had lessened the upward pressure on prices.
Mr Ellis also said that the low level of interest rates had helped to keep demand steady. Yesterday the Bank of England’s Monetary Policy Committee kept the base rate at 0.5 per cent, where it has been since March 2009.
